The Art of Breaking Up
by rxcknrollrebel
Summary: Leonard and Sophie were very different souls, but somehow the two managed to find each other. (Leonard/OC, Sheldon/OC.)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hello everyone. This is not my first BBT fanfiction, mind you. This is going to be Leonard/OC, written in first person, unlike my previous one, which was written in third person narrative with Sheldon/OC. This is a romantic comedy- picture it as a Jennifer Aniston-like movie, such as She's Funny That Way or The Breakup. Tell me if I should continue this or not.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Big Bang Theory. I only own my character, Sophie.**

Chapter One

I had always thought of love as a game. A pointless game, that is. One person falls hopelessly in love, and the other either doesn't return it or gets their heart broken for all eternity.

I thought this as I walked to my current boyfriend's apartment. He was thirty, employed, good-looking, well-groomed and didn't have any unnecessary bodily modifications or piercings. He usually wore clean clothes (unless it was the weekend) and showered daily. He met all of my standards.

So, why was I dumping him, you ask?

The answer is simple: I wanted to be free. I was like a bird without wings. (Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic- but being in a relationship, I felt as if I was caged in.) I pocketed my cell phone and reached up, my hand shaking as I knocked the door.

Jake's voice came from inside, muffled: "Come in." He didn't even bother to ask who it was. I shook my head and opened the door, stepping in and dropping my purse on the counter nearby.

Jake emerged holding a cup of coffee. He was wearing a blue T-shirt, khakis, and no shoes. His spiky black hair looked like it had been gelled back.

"Hello, beautiful." He set his half-empty coffee cup on the table and looped his arms around my shoulders. "How are you?"

"Good." I felt almost guilty. Here he was thinking we were hanging out, and I was actually going to break up with him. "Listen," I said slowly, backing up, "we need to talk."

"About what?" Jake picked up his coffee cup and sniffed it like he was going to snort it up his nose.

I winced. These were the types of immature behaviors that got my goat- not only did I want to be free, but he was thirty-some and still acted like a college kid, maybe younger, and had the mental capacity of, oh, I don't know, a high school boy. This is why he had to go. But hey, at least he was employed.

"About us," I said as he sat down, tapping his foot neurotically. How could I have not noticed how neurotic he was until now?

"You want to talk about the United States?" He looked at me with a genuine confused stare.

I felt like smacking my forehead, then and there. "No." Idiot. "I meant as in our relationship."

"I think it's going pretty well," Jake decided, trailing his fingers up and down my leg. "What do you think, Miss Sophie?" He spoke in that low, seductive voice that always made chills run up and down my spine.

I shuddered and threw his hand off. "I think we need...a break."

"A break?" He looked at me. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," I said slowly, inching further away from him- I hated to seem cold and distant, but what had to be done, had to be done- "that we need to separate ourselves for awhile. To think about our future."

"I can't wait to have a future with you." Jake kissed my forehead, running his hands through my hair.

Though I knew I shouldn't encourage him, I embraced him. "I know, me too." I felt terrible for lying. "But I really think," I continued, moving back into my open space, "that we need to separate. At least for awhile. Until, you know, we sort everything out."

"But we can sort everything out together now," Jake whined, drawing out the "now" like a child.

"I know, sweetie." I patted his hand. "Everything will work out in due time."

He shrugged and turned on the TV, scrolling through the channels. I reached for the other remote to turn the volume down. Another thing that drove me crazy- he usually wanted to watch TV, but I wanted to talk.

While I was fumbling for the remote, I felt something soft and foamy, almost frilly, within the couch cushions. I frowned, plucking the material out. I nearly choked on my breath when I saw what it was.

"What the hell is this?" I held up a lacy heart-shaped bra.

He blushed furiously, then turned pale, then blushed again. Finally, he blurted out, "I- I don't know. Isn't it yours?"

"Yeah, right." Like I'd wear something like this. "How long have you been sleeping with someone else?"

Jake sighed, dropping his hands down to his sides. "About a month now," he mumbled almost inaudibly.

Instead of sadness, I felt fury rise within me. "How could you!" I shoved him, then stood, walking briskly.

"Sophie, baby," he begged, following me into the kitchen. "I can change-"

I cut him off. "No need," I spat bitterly. "I've heard it all before."

"Baby girl, please-" he reached out, touching my shoulder, but I pried his fingers off me.

"Get off me," I snapped. "And I'm not your baby." I opened the door, slinging my purse over my shoulder. "Don't ever speak to me again."

He didn't call after me anymore. He didn't have to.

Because I was gone.

I exhaled, setting down the box.

"Well," Savanna said, brushing her hands together, "that should be everything. How does it look?"

I looked around. Although practically bare, the new apartment looked wonderful- I'd already set up a couch, a small television, and gotten my things set up, my bed made and done. All I needed was to buy food and supplies and I'd b be completely settled in.

"It looks great," I said. "Thanks."

"There are some really nice people down the hallway," Savanna told me. "There's a married couple that lives across from you. And a younger girl."

"Well, thanks." Maybe I did need some socializing.

"One of them's a doctor," she continued. "He's really cute."

"Savanna, I don't need a boyfriend," I told her. "Like Elsa in the movie Frozen said, 'You don't need a prince to save you.'"

She sighed. "I can't battle quotes with you because, unlike you, I'm not a Disney fanatic."

"Damn right," I said, and she laughed. I smiled, because I would have done the same thing.

She reached into her bra.

"What are you doing?" I asked, frowning. She kept everything in her bra, from personal ID's to books and business cards.

"I got us some wine." Savanna held up a wine bottle.

"You kept that in your bra?" I burst out laughing. "That is actually great!"

"Hell yeah," Savanna said.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Thanks for the review!**

Chapter Two

We did, indeed, get drunk. We were so drunk that we were giggling our way through the movie we were watching- _Paul_ , starring Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, and sarcastic Seth Rogen. It was hard to pay attention to the alien film, however, when you're shitfaced drunk and giggling uncontrollably at nothing in particular.

"I'm, like, so drunk," Savanna said, her vocal fry enunciated.

"Same," I half-moaned, half-spoke. The last time I got this drunk was when Jacob Parker broke up with me in college. The next morning, I was so hungover that I had to sleep in the lounge, and ended up vomiting on some guy's Nikes.

The movie was halfway over, but we were now paying no attention to it whatsoever.

"You know what?" Savanna leaned closer and put her face next to mine. "I think I could like, kiss you or something…"

I giggled and stuck my hand up her shirt. We almost made out, but decided not to, considering how Savanna had a boyfriend and we'd regret it in the morning. Instead of making out, Savanna passed out on the couch, and I collapsed on the floor, as the credits to _Paul_ ran.

I awoke to hear a knocking on the door. I shot up and immediately regretted it- my head spun, and I felt like I was going to faint. "Coming!" I called to whoever was waiting outside the door. I hoped it wasn't social services kicking us out already. Wouldn't that be the suck of the suck?

I went to the bathroom and splashed my face with cool water, then brushed my teeth. I looked in the mirror. My eyes were bloodshot, and the bags under them were so heavy they could probably carry groceries. How attractive. I sighed, putting my toothbrush away, and slapped on some foundation and powder to make me look less hungover. Hopefully my voice wouldn't give it away.

I tucked my pockets in and opened the door, smiling. "How may I help you today?" Oh, God. I sounded like customer service.

A younger woman was in front of me. She had long, choppy blonde hair (that looked like it had brown highlights), pretty blue eyes, and a face that was obviously caked with makeup. She wore a pink sweatshirt with rainbows on the sleeves and front, pink jeans, and white sandals. Oh, no. She looked like the type that was stuck-up.

However, I must have gotten the wrong impression of Pretty Girl, because she smiled at me and said, "I see you're new here."

"H-how do you know?" I suddenly felt very insecure. I always felt very self-conscious around girls who were prettier than me. Blondes, in particular. When I was little, I always wanted blonde hair- instead I was stuck with a black bob cut, a flat chest, and glasses. I now felt very insecure in my jeans, brown plaid T-shirt, and Converse. This girl was about a thousand times prettier than me. I hoped she didn't notice that I looked uncomfortable around her.

She smiled. "I saw you move in. I was walking to my apartment when I saw you guys."

"Oh." I felt like smacking myself. "Okay."

"I'm Penny," she said, outstretching her hand, I realized she was going in for a hand shake.

"I'm Sophie," I said.

"Nice to meet you." Penny nodded. "Me and a couple of my friends do game and movie night every Thursday. Since today's Thursday, I was wondering if you and your friend would like to come."

I tried not to sound too nervous. "Uh, game night," I said. "That sounds great."

"Great!" Penny clapped her hands together. "Is your friend okay?" She peered over my shoulder. I glanced over at the couch. Savanna was lying halfway off the couch, one leg on the floor, and her whole body on the cushions. Her arm was curled over her head, and she was breathing heavily.

"Uh, yeah, she's fine," I assured Penny. "I think she's just tired from moving, that's all." I didn't want to admit that Savanna and I had drunk ourselves silly. She probably wouldn't want us over if she knew we were unstable alcoholics.

"Well, ask her if she can come," Penny said. "We'd love to have her over."

I nodded and took a pillow, throwing it at Savanna.

She immediately shot up off the couch, nearly falling onto the floor- all the way this time. "I'm up," she squeaked. She looked around. "Who's that?" Her voice was still slurred. I cringed. I knew we were going to regret this. Or at least, I already did.

"This is our new neighbor, Penny," I told her, blushing.

"Oh." Savanna sat up, stretching and moaning. "Hello."

"And that's...Savanna."

"Hello," Penny repeated.

"Penny and her friends have a game/movie night every Thursday night," I told Savanna. "I'm going. I was wondering if you'd like to come along?"

"I'd love to," Savanna said, standing slowly, "but I think I'd better get home. My mom's probably gonna worry about me…."

"Savanna, you're 21, not twelve," I reminded her, but she was already halfway out the door, brushing past Penny.

"Savanna," I warned, sounding almost like a parent scolding their misbehaving child. "I wouldn't-"

She was already down the steps, when suddenly, I heard a loud _thud_. Penny and I both winced, then peered down the steps.

Savanna was now standing, leaning against the stair railing. "I'm okay," she called meekly, giving a thumbs up.

I sighed.

After giving Savanna a ride home (obviously the alcohol hadn't worn off yet), I followed Penny inside.

"Sorry about Savanna," I apologized. "Me and her just…." I hesitated.

"It's okay!" She nodded, and I breathed a sigh of relief, hoping she'd gotten the hint. At least they hadn't kicked us out yet.

Penny led me to the darker side of the hallway. She knocked on the door that was ahead of us. A moment later, the door opened. A younger guy, maybe in his early thirties or so, emerged. He was wearing a purple graphic T-shirt, baggy khaki pants, Converse, and a green jacket. He had square-shaped glasses and shaggy black hair.

"What brings you here?" He looked at Penny, then gave a curious look to me. I almost stepped behind Penny like a small child, but she sidestepped me.

"Leonard, this is Sophie. Sophie," Penny said, pushing me foreward (not-so-gently, may I add), "this is Leonard."

"Hi," Leonard said with a wave.

"Hi," I repeated. I hoped I didn't sound too awkward.

"She's new here," Penny said. "She just moved in-"

"Yesterday," I cut in, hopping around from one foot to the other. "I just moved in yesterday morning."

"Welcome to the complex," Leonard said. "Hope you survive."

"Ha-ah-ha," Penny sneered, fake-laughing. "Get inside." She shoved him into the apartment.

I followed her. I was growing more comfortable with Penny. Despite being pretty 'n' pink, she was one of the sweetest people I'd met, and she seemed to have a very motherly aura about her. Like she was the type of person you could confide in if you needed advice.

I stood there, like I did when I was in middle school, swinging my arms at my sides and waiting for someone to tell me what to do.

"Sit down," Penny said, noticing. "I'll get you a drink. What do you drink?"

"Uh," I said. "A water would be fine, please." I had a feeling she mean alcohol. I didn't even want to look at alcohol after the events of this morning and last night.

"Okay," she said, looking at me curiously, then headed over to the kitchen and grabbed several cups, along with a bottle of wine.

"Penny is a waitress," a unique voice said. "She needs to practice mixing alcoholic beverages before she shoves them down your esophagus."

I looked over to see a guy with short brown hair sitting on the couch. He was wearing a green shirt, jeans, and a brown jacket, dressed similarly to Leonard.

"That's….Sheldon," Leonard said hesitantly, sitting down on the chair near the couch.

"Hey, Sheldon," I said, not knowing what else to say.

"Hello." He didn't look up from the book he was reading.

"Whatcha readin'?" I looked over his shoulder.

"Charles Darwin's autobiography." Sheldon turned it around so I could see the cover. "Very good read, I highly recommend it."

"Uh, sorry," I said, backing up a little. "Not much into science."

"Not much into science?" Sheldon gasped and looked at me as if I'd insulted his pet. "Leonard, the girl over here says she doesn't like science."

"That's too bad," Leonard said to Sheldon, but glanced over at me and smiled. "What are you into?"

"Romance novels," I said, feeling suddenly cliche. "I also like Seth Rogen, Batman, Stephen King, and football."

"You like football?" Leonard asked.

I nodded, smiling shyly. "Yeah. I always wanted to play it when I was little, but my dad said it was for guys only." I felt a slight pang of irritation at the mention of my dad.

"Why not?" Sheldon asked, closing his book and setting it on the coffee table. "After all, it's a sport that anyone can participate in, when it involves simply throwing a ball back and forth and rolling around in circular motions on the floor."

"That is not how football goes, Sheldon," Leonard said tiredly, giving me an annoyed look.

"Sports." Sheldon shook his head. "I'll never understand them."

I felt the urge to laugh; I could already tell Sheldon was quite a character and very opinionated.

"Here ya go!" Penny handed us our drinks- Sheldon a sprite, Leonard hot tea, and me water- and sat down.

"Do you know how to mix sprite?" Leonard asked jokingly.

"You can't mix sprite, sweetie," Penny said. I wondered if they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Of course. Pretty Girl gets Handsome Nerd Guy.

"I hate to sound rude," I asked, sipping my water, "but are you guys going out?"

Penny pursed her lips, and Leonard turned bright red, blushing like a high school boy. "No, no, no," he said quickly, as Penny said, "we broke up."

"Oh." I had hit an obviously hit a touchy subject. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Penny smiled, but she was glancing over at Leonard, giving him an I'm-so-going-to-kill-you-later glare. "It's anyone's mistake."

I still felt bad, though. I tried to push the guilt aside as Leonard turned back to me.

"Are you currently going out with someone, Sophie?"

I shook my head, wincing. "No," I said. "I just broke up with someone after finding his mistress's lace underwear in the couch cushions."

"Ouch," Penny said, at the same time Leonard said, "He cheated on you?"

 _Don't remind me._ "Yeah."

"Jeez, what a jerkoff," Leonard said, and I smiled. "Oh well. It's in the past now."

"Well, let's start movie night, shall we?" Penny proposed, and I could tell the subject was making her uneasy. I decided not to bring up dating or boyfriends around her

anymore.

At least, someone was going through the same thing I was.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N To the reviewer- Kurt will be in this story. The Lenny situation will have to do something with Kurt, but I'm not sure what yet, not to mention I don't want to give out spoilers. So, we'll see how it goes…**

Chapter Three

After the movie, Penny left, and Sheldon went to bed, leaving Leonard and I alone in the apartment. I felt awkward and uneasy, per usual, but thankfully, Leonard started the conversations.

"Where did you live before here?" Leonard asked, leaning against the back of the couch and crossing his arms behind his head.

"I lived in San Diego," I replied. "I thought a change of scenery would be nice." _And to get away from that rat-bastard Jake._

Somehow, I still couldn't get that asshole out of my mind.

"Well, Pasadena is incredible," Leonard said. "You'll like it here once you settle down."

"Thanks," I said. "I sure hope so."

"So, are you interested in anime?" Leonard gave me an almost hopeful look, and I chewed on my lip to keep from laughing. He looked like a little lost puppy.

"I've only seen a couple," I admitted. " _Yuri! On Ice,_ and _Death Note_."

" _Death Note_ was the bomb," Leonard said. "You should check out _Your Name_. It was the highest grossing anime film in the US recently."

"Really." I hadn't gotten the notion that it was that popular here.

"You know," Leonard continued, stretching, "even though anime is well-known here, in Japan, they're not really into anime. Get this, they're into Disney movies and cartoons."

I almost choked on my water. "Disney?" I repeated, laughing. That was the last thing I expected from Japan. Disney was such an all-American thing, after all. "I love Disney," I said. "I know I'm too old for it, but my Disney obsession has gotten worse the past couple of months." I sipped my water quietly, hoping to fill in the awkward silence. Time to make small talk, I suppose.

"So, what do you do for a living?" I asked, hoping I wasn't going too fast.

"Actually, I'm a physicist." Surprisingly, he didn't seem to have too much of an ego, or didn't seem prideful when he stated this. In fact, he seemed the most humble.

"Really?" I said. "Wow, that's amazing."

"So is Sheldon," Leonard said. "He specializes in all things science. Just ask him. Actually, you don't have to ask him. He'll tell you, he loves bragging about himself."

I chortled. "He seems like a bit of a narcissist." I'd been around enough narcissists (and dated quite a few) to know the characteristics- and, from what I'd seen, Sheldon showed all signs of one.

"Sociopathic, more likely," Leonard corrected. "So, what are your hobbies?"

I set my water glass aside. "I sacrifice cats and drink the blood of my enemies every night."

His eyes widened behind his glasses, and I thought he might bolt. I burst out laughing.

"You...actually...believed me," I said between giggles.

"Very funny." I could tell I didn't actually hurt his feelings or embarrass him, because he was smirking.

"My mind is dark," I said. "When I dream I see people drinking the blood of children out of a water fountain."

"Jeez." Leonard laughed. "Wow, that just got morbid."

I smirked, biting my lip. I tended to be a bit of a sadist. I enjoyed the violence in the movie _Split_ , and especially _The_ _Hunger Games._ Somehow, the blood and guts entertained me. Unusual for a Disney lunatic.

"Actually, I study serial killers a lot," I admitted. This time it was true. "I like reading Wikipedia articles about cannibalism, necrophilia, murder, massacres, etc." I did it in my spare time when I wasn't at work, more specifically at night. I liked being scared. It was a nice feeling to me. Exactly why I said I was a sadist.

"Interesting." I suspected he was being sarcastic, but he gave me a look that told me he wasn't.

"So, if you don't mind me asking," I said slowly, crossing one leg over the other, "and I hope it's not too soon, but what happened between you and Penny?"

Leonard blushed, then dropped his arms to his sides and shifted his weight. _Touchy subject_ , I thought. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." A pang of guilt again. **Damn** , I was so sick of these emotional pangs. I barely felt emotion, but when I did, they came in pangs, and lasted awhile.

"No, it's about time I did," he sighed. "We...we dated for awhile, off and on. After she broke up with a guy named Kurt, but then started going out with me. We became official the day after she and Kurt broke up." That was fast. I told myself to not be so judgmental. Especially when I just broke up with someone myself. Penny was probably desperate, lonely, and single. Of course she needed someone.

"We were really close for a long time," he went on, staring up at the ceiling. "We slept together, but then things went downhill…" He drifted off. "It happened so quickly." He wiped at his eyes.

"Oh, Leonard," I said softly. "I'm sorry." I felt bad for asking now.

"It's okay," Leonard said. "I probably needed to vent anyways. Sheldon is okay, but he's not the best conversationalist in the world."

"Why do you put up with him?" It didn't come off as rude as it sounded.

"Cuz, truth is," Leonard said quietly, "he's a little broken. He needs me, and I need him." He paused, rubbing the back of his head subconsciously. "I'm a little broken, too."

I sat up, leaning on one elbow. "You're not broken," I said. "I just met you a couple of hours ago, but I can tell you damn straight you aren't broken. There's nothing wrong with you."

He smiled. "Well, thank you."

We quickly changed the subject since it was becoming particularly depressing. He hadn't seen many Disney movies, and I hadn't seen much anime.

"I'm gonna make you watch _Moana_ ," I told him. I saw _Moana_ three times in theatre, Savanna tagging along each time without complaint. She told me she never got sick of it, but I knew she was deep down inside.

"And I'm gonna make you watch anime," Leonard said in return.

I grinned. "Well, I'd better get going," I said, standing. "I've got work tomorrow." Jesus, I almost forgot.

"Damn, it's nine already." Leonard stood, walking me to the door.

"I'll see you this weekend?" I asked, my hand on the doorknob.

"Hopefully sooner." He gave me an almost sly look.

I looked away, hiding the fact that I was blushing. He was clearly flirting.

"Leonard, I'm here if you ever need anything," I told him as I opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

"Thank you." Leonard smiled. "Same goes for you."

I turned and walked off, smiling to myself.

I was going to do just fine in Pasadena.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N Great feedback guys! I'm glad you're enjoying it. Those reviews make me smile! Yeah, I never really liked Priya. It seemed like she was always trying to change Leonard and that he was never good enough for her. So, yeah….hence my story.**_

Chapter Four

 _I can't sleep. It's three o'clock in the morning. It's dark out._

The street was empty, not a sign of life to be seen or heard. My window was drawn shut, and I was lying in bed.

 _So why can't I fall asleep?!_

I heard a lot of people are sensitive to time lapses and changes. I read somewhere that some people wake up often around 3-4 A.M., which is known as the Witching Hour to the superstitious. Especially psychics. But I'm definitely not psychic, and I don't believe in ghosts, so the only explanation for my insomnia was….what?

I rolled over, rubbing at my eyes. I heard something vibrating nearby. I looked over to see my Android phone ringing.

Caller ID: Jake.

Ugh. What did he want at one in the morning? Probably begging for me to get with him again. But I wasn't. Never would I ever go back to someone who crawls for me when they don't realize what they had was gone, like the Cinderella song.

I closed my eyes, letting it ring, and listened for the familiar beep of the voicemail.

I held my breath, then braced myself.

"Hey, Sophie. Uh, this is Jake….why did I say that, you know it is, because of caller ID." He did a weird little laugh, the one I liked at first, but now just found irritating and grating. "I know you probably hate me now. But….I just called to say that I'm sorry, okay? I hope you can forgive me. Okay?" He paused, as if waiting for my vocal response. I heard his heavy breathing. I could see him waiting by the door, phone in hand, his eyes wide and a hopeful look on his narrow face.

It was those soft, brown, puppy-like eyes that I fell for…

I grabbed the phone, picking up and interrupting his sentence.

"Sophie!" He sounded relieved. Not excited, not sad, or happy. Like he'd just received a call that someone had found his missing parakeet. "How are you?"

 _You caught me on the wrong day, buddy_ , I thought. Normally, I would've gone on a rant about how he needed to go fuck his mother and everyone in between, but instead, I spoke weakly, "Don't call me again, Jake...I'm sorry…" I hung up. I should have just blocked his number. I don't know why I apologized. I lie in bed, tears springing out of my eyes, feeling sorry for myself, and a little sorry for Jake, too. Poor bastard didn't even see it coming.

But he didn't call again.

I don't know why I cried that night. But, miraculously, I woke up feeling right as rain.

I pulled on an old Panic! At the Disco hoodie, jeans, and my regular Cons. I brushed my hair straight down and got ready.

I walked out of the apartment, grabbing some crackers in case I got hungry (I was never hungry in the morning- it always made me sick to my stomach to eat first thing, even as a little kid I hadn't eaten breakfast before school) on the way.

I wasn't paying attention- my point proven when I bumped into something- actually, more like someone.

Whoever I knocked over grunted.

I looked down to see Leonard struggling to get off the floor.

"Oh! I'm sorry." I blushed furiously and offered my hand. He grabbed it, and I yanked him up. "You okay?"

He chuckled. "I'm fine. What about you?"

"I'm still alive," I said. I didn't feel like talking about Jake. "Well, I-"

"Are you free today?" Leonard asked, looking hopeful. He was almost giving me puppy dog eyes. Aww….how sweet.

"Well, I don't have work today," I said, shifting my weight (the crackers in my pocket made a crinkly noise as I did so- they were probably broken by then) "and I really don't have any other plans. Except for taking a walk, that is. Would you like to come with me?" _Did you just ask him out? Mm...down girl!_

"I also don't have work today," he said. "I would be honored if I could come with thy lady."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, come on." His attempt at flirting was horrible. If he was even flirting.

"Looks like Penny's dating a new guy," Leonard muttered as we walked down the steps.

"Oh?" I thought she was single. Well, a pretty girl like her couldn't stay single for too long. I bet she's had a million boyfriends. "Do you know him?"

"He's some rich guy named Kevin." Surprisingly, there was more disappointment than distaste in his voice. Something told me that he wasn't quite over her yet. So why was he flirting with me?

"Rich?" I repeated. "Huh." Must be nice. "How do you know he's rich?"

"His parents are millionaires," Leonard said as we opened the door to outside. "One of them's a hot-shot lawyer and another is a news-reporter that travels constantly."

"Really?" Lucky Penny. She and him must be loaded by now. Hmm...it would have been nice if Jake was rich. Maybe I could have gotten fancy limo rides and met George Lopez.

We were halfway down the street when Leonard stopped me. "Hey, we should go in there."

I looked over to see a small store. Was it a vintage store? A New Age store? Indie store? Whatever the hell you call those alternative-rebel-stores. The kind that angsty teens andmotorcycle gangs go to.

Leonard stepped closer. "Madame Pomfre's psychic readings," he read aloud, squinting at the small, almost ineligible handwriting. "Open Monday through Wednesdays. Come on in, you'll be blown away."

I rolled my eyes. "You don't really believe in that stuff, do you?" No way was I going to blow fifteen dollars or whatever down the drain.

"No," Leonard said, putting one hand on the door, "but it's worth a shot."

I squinted at him cynically. Was he kidding?

I was about to question his sanity, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me inside.

 _Ooh...hand-holding. Isn't it a bit too soon for that?_

The store wasn't really a store. It was more like a small, candle-lit room with pamphlets advertising amusement parks and scams.

This whole thing is a waste of time, I thought, inching back, but Leonard stopped me once more. _Damn you._

He pointed. Ahead of us, in the corner of the room, was a table. A woman dressed in gauzy, blue clothes with bracelets the size of Texas on here wrists sat on the chair. Her hair was in a spiky pixie cut. I noticed the bangs had been dyed pink, and she hoops so heavy they dragged the lobes down. Any other person would have thought she was a nut job and taken off in the other direction, but Leonard and I stayed, standing there and staring at her. He looked slightly uncomfortable. Well, who wouldn't be?

"Hello," the woman spoke, her voice atangle with an obviously faux Transylvanian accent, i.e, Dracula. "I am Madam Pomfre."

"You were just the person we're looking for," Leonard said, trying to sound polite. I winced- he sounded over-enthusiastic and desperate. "You do psychic readings?"

"Yes, my dear." She opened her eyes- I hadn't even noticed they'd been closed, it was so damn dark in there- and gestured for us to come over. "Come sit down. I don't bite."

Leonard chuckled nervously, and we both sat side by side in the chairs by the table.

She stretched her hands out. All her nails were painted black, and on both her middle fingers were skull-and-cross-bones rings. _The better to flip you off with, my dear._

"Come," Madam Pomfre said, taking our hands in hers. She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. She almost looked like she was meditating. I was growing more and more uncomfortable by the moment, especially with her digging her fingers into my wrists. God. Did the woman ever clip her nails?

After a few minutes, Madam Pomfre let out a deep breath and opened her eyes, looking at me. "You have had a long journey."

If she meant the walk I'd just taken down the avenue, yes indeed, I had had a long journey.

"You are looking for something," Madam Pomfre continued, her gaze on both of us this time, "that is no longer yours. In your future is a strong bond, and many hardships."

I bit my lip. She probably spouted all this nonsense off to whoever paid her ten extra dollars.

"Is there a woman with long blonde hair in my future?" Leonard asked her, looking almost hopeful. Poor guy. Was he that naive?

"No." She fixed her gaze on him. "She is in your past."

I felt my heart skip a beat. Oh-kaayy. I stood, but she grabbed my wrist non-too-gently, almost forcing me to sit down.

"You both soon will discover that love has been there all along," Madam Pomfre told us in a low voice. "But with that love comes a price."

I didn't really want to know, but I found myself asking, "What price?" Probably the money she'd been gold-digging us for.

The timer went off.

"Your time is up," Madam Pomfre said quietly. "I am sorry." She helped us stand.

"Good luck to the both of you," she said as Leonard slid her a five dollar bill. Who knew what she did with all that money she got from lying to people?

"What's the price?" I asked again. If she was a real psychic, she' give me the answer, time up or not.

Madam Pomfre put a gentle hand on my shoulder. "You will find out soon enough, my child." She turned around, releasing me from her grip, and started organizing the table.

I stared at her. Something about her seemed off- and surprisingly, I felt an old sense of deja vu return, a sensation that I hadn't experienced since I was a little kid.

"Thanks for your time," Leonard called as we walked out.

"You're quite welcome," she returned. "Come back any time." She drew out the word "any" like it had a million syllables, the fake Transylvanian accent making it even more dramatic.

I shook my head.

Madam Pomfre- more like Madam Psycho.

A psychic? Yeah, right.

But part of me got the feeling that there was more to what she was saying than meets the eye


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Only a month of school left for me, and you all know what that means- more updates! Here's another one!**

Chapter Five

It had been three days and I still couldn't get what Madame Psychic had said out of my mind.

What price did she mean, besides the one that we'd paid to see her? That one was obvious. The sensation that I hadn't exactly flushed $10 down the toilet still lingered.

I sighed, rolling off the couch. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't concentrate on the latest episode of _Grey's_ _Anatomy_. So far, Dr. Grey and Dr. Shepherd had had sex last night, and Dr. Bailey and Dr. Yang were on their way to another girl fight. Dr. Bailey couldn't get enough drama this episode.

I turned off the TV and walked out of the apartment. I needed to get my head cleared. To vent, or something.

I was halfway down the hall when a familiar voice said, "I was just going to stop by your place."

I looked up to see Leonard. Today, he was wearing a Yoda T-shirt, skinny jeans, Converse, and his green jacket, which I was beginning to assume was his signature "look." Ooh...I like a man with a look.

"What's up?" I wished I'd dressed nicer. Maybe not a men's XL black Beefy Hanes T-shirt and ripped jeans.

He looked a little nervous, I noted. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out to dinner."

"Oh?" My heart skipped a beat. Was he asking me out?

"I mean, to dinner," he said quickly, tripping over his words. "With me. Tonight."

I almost laughed at his awkwardness, but decided against it, seeing as he was already nervous enough and me laughing would screw it up. He had an ego to boost, after all. And I wasn't going to be the one to dent it.

"Sure," I said. Oh my God. I cannot believe I just said that! I felt like slapping myself. "That would be great," I added, so I didn't sound so awkward. Now the awkward level was completely one. Awkward? One. Sophie? Zero.

"So, that's a yes?" Leonard looked almost helpful, and, okay, this time, I did snicker a little to myself.

"Of course it's a yes." I checked my watch for effect. Even though I didn't have a watch. Jesus save me.

"Seven?" Leonard suggested, almost sounding unsure of himself.

"Sounds great!" I hoped I didn't sound too enthusiastic- or too dry either. I didn't want to seem uninterested. "Should I dress up?"

"As much or less as you want." He winked at me, and I blushed, covering my mouth with my palm to hide my smile.

"Sounds like a plan," I confirmed.

By the time I arrived at my own apartment, I was grinning like a school-girl.

"You have got to wear this!" Savanna held up a tablet of blue eyeliner.

"Savanna, I am not wearing blue eyeliner," I said for maybe the third time in the last five minutes. "It'll make me look like a 60's hooker."

Savanna pouted. "Nuh-uhh," she said, sounding like a little kid. "Jaime Lee Curtis wore it in My Girl and looked amazing."

" _My Girl_ took place in the 60's. What went in the 60's should stay in the 60's." I clutched my stomach. If I was ever on TV and someone asked me what I can't do, not crying during _My Girl_ was definitely what I'd say.

"Well, just a dab?" Savanna pleaded.

"Fine." I sighed. "But if I go out and attract male strippers, you owe me fifty bucks."

"Deal."

She helped me put on a bright blue dress and did my hair in braids as best she could. (Yes, as it turns out, bobcuts can be braided.) I put on pink lipstick myself (natural looking pink- I didn't want to look like Elle from _Legally Blonde._ Although, that movie was excellent and Reese Witherspoon was simply amazing.) Savanna dabbed blue eyeliner on me.

"Perfect," she said.

"A girl can never wear too much eyeliner," I said. No, Elle Woods didn't quote that, Jaime Lee Curtis did.

"I beg to differ," Savanna said, and I chortled.

I checked the time on my cell phone. "Shit! He's gonna be here any minute!"

I grabbed my wallet, shoved it in my purse, and slung it over my shoulder.

My calculations were correct- there was a knock at the door. I looked over my shoulder at Savanna, as if asking for permission, and she nodded. "Good luck, girl! Tell me everything!"

Before I could panic or say anything else, she disappeared into the living room and turned the TV on.

I opened the door.

Leonard usually looked like a young boy, but tonight he looked completely different. He was wearing a black suit, dress pants, black shiny dress shoes, and had his hair a completely different style. His usual glasses added the "smart-sexy" look. _Hot daaamn!_ I was completely taken aback.

"I feel underdressed," I admitted, saying my thoughts aloud.

Leonard was staring. "Wow! You look hotter than a thousand suns."

I almost burst out laughing right then and there. "Hotter than a thousand suns!" I swear I almost died. I hoped Savanna wasn't hearing any of this.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm ready," he said. "When I take a girl out on a date, and I do, she knows she's been dated."

I know I've been dated.

.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N I got the line "hotter than a thousand suns" from a meme my friend sent to me. I also love Grey's Anatomy, and My Girl is a 90's movie that I used to be obsessed with. I own none of the above. Also, I thought I'd mention that Savanna (Sophie's best friend) is in my other Big Bang Theory story. These two stories take place in the same universe, so you'll probably see Katie and a few other of my loveable OC's too. I thought I'd add that I'm so sorry for not updating quicker than I'd like to! School is coming to a close, and I have a project in every damn class. It sucks. -.- Anywhore, I'm sure you're tired of my rambling now. I'll make this chapter extra long. Enjoy!**

Chapter Six

The restaurant was dimly lit. It was a small diner in town (I already forgot the name), family friendly. And apparently date-friendly. We were seated in a both by the window, where I could see several cars parke outside. It wasn't that busy, but busy enough for there to be a line of people waiting for a table.

"Coffee, or no?" I asked, when the waitress asked us what we wanted to drink.

"Tea for me," Leonard said, then glanced at me.

"I'll have the same as him." Not because I'm an immature copy-cat or trying to please- I just hated coffee, ever since I threw it up when I was sixteen. I had a sick bug. I knew it hadn't been the sickness's fault, but every time I drank coffee now it reminded me of when I'd been sick.

"No coffee?" He studied me, as if I'd discovered a new alien race. God. He acted like he'd never seen someone drink tea before.

"I just hate coffee." I felt my stomach lurch. It wasn't really a dinner-friendly tale. "I'll explain later."

Leonard looked confused, and possibly alarmed, as I was clutching my stomach. "Are you...okay?"

"Oh! I'm fine." I removed my hands from my stomach and put them in the air. "See? Fine! Just fine." I was going to make a fool out of myself on my first date. If this is what you called it.

"What do you for fun, besides science?" I cleared my threat, hoping to break the awkwardness between us. I thought eventually the awkwardness would pass, at least it would on the second date. If we even did go on a second date.

"More science," he said, and I allowed myself to smile. "I went to college for four years for it, and still doing it."

"Wow," I said. "It sounds like you're quite passionate about it."

He nodded. "I am." My job didn't compare to his- mine was working as a library volunteer, and yes, I did get paid. It was a part-time job till I could get completely settled in and sure of myself again. I have to admit, the whole thing with Jake had screwed me up, even if I didn't want to admit it.

"Did you have any serious girlfriends before Penny?" I regretted asking about it almost instantly. Penny- or any other of his exes- was probably the last person(s) he wanted to think about, especially he was trying to get to know me more. Wow, I was so _insensitive_.

"Not really," he admitted, and I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing I hadn't at least screwed up the whole date. "For awhile after Penny and I broke up I dated my friend's sister."

"Oh?" Was this 'friend' male or female? Is that jealousy you're feeling? _Relax! It's just a date._ I dug my fingernails into my thighs, reminding me that this was real.

"He's one of my co-workers," Leonard explained. "Sheldon works with him, too." A _he_. That explains it. I chewed my lip and hoped it wasn't bleeding. (Wouldn't that be embarrassing!)

Our food arrived shortly after, and I nibbled on the steak I'd ordered, trying not to scarf it down like a hungry animal. I'd always been insecure about eating in front of other people, male or female.

"I just remembered," Leonard said, setting his fork down, "that you're into literature. Do you have a favorite book?" He looked almost embarrassed. "Sorry," he said with a shrug. "Literature has never been my forte."

"It's alright." Nor has science been mine. "My favorite novel is _I Know This Much Is True_ by Wally Lamb." I'd explain the premise later- it was slightly depressing, and in some parts disturbing.

"Well, you'll have to let me borrow it sometime," Leonard said. "If you trust me with your prized possession, that is."

So salty. "Of course."

"The important thing is to not stop questioning," Leonard murmured suddenly. "Curiosity has its own reason for existing."

I looked up, fork halfway to my mouth. "What?"

"Albert Einstein," he said almost sheepishly. "One of his quotes that actually turned out to be true."

I laughed quietly.

The music became softer, an old Prince ballad coming on the radio. We'd finished our food.

I got out my wallet, meaning to pay, but Leonard held up a hand. "No, I've got this." He scribbled down a check.

"I feel bad now," I pouted, crossing my arms over my chest. I don't know how girls can rely on their boyfriend to pay for everything. I feel bad when Savanna buys me a bottle of water.

"Trust me," he said, sliding the check onto the table, "I'd feel worse if you didn't let me pay for you."

I blushed, smiling. He grabbed my hand, and I took it. Okay. We can hold hands. This is okay. Breathe.

I willed myself to calm down and tried to remember how to breathe again. We held hands all the way home.

"I know this may sound weird," Leonard said as we walked up the steps to the apartments, "but are you...um... a virgin?" His face was bright red as he stammered out the question. Ookkayy...awkward, much?

I knew I was blushing harder than I wanted to. "Uh...yes." In truth, I was. I was raised not to have sexual intercourse for fun, only if you were trying to have a baby, and it was frowned upon in my family to have sex if you were unmarried. The farthest I'd gone with Jake (or any of my ex-boyfriends) was making out on the kitchen floor and picking at each other's clothes every once in awhile. I'd gotten a hickey once, and didn't like it very much. "Sorry."

"Was I insensitive?" Leonard seemed even more nervous than usual. "I'm sorry."

"No, I am," I said quickly. Jesus, wwe spent more time apologizing than actually talking. We were so anxiety-endured. "I just...don't get it, that's all."

"I understand." He nodded. His face wasn't as red as it had been before.

"Are you?" I was glad I wasn't the only one that wasn't feeling like I'd screw up at any moment.

"No," he said slowly.

"With Penny?" He nodded again.

"Oh." I bit my lip. "And then you broke up."

"I gave my virginity to her," Leonard said, sounding almost bitter, "and she left."

"That's screwed up," I said in a low voice. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, and I put my arms around him.

"What are you doing?" Leonard seemed surprised, but he didn't attempt to push me away.

"Hugging you." I threw my arms around his shoulders. "Duh!"

He nuzzled against me and sighed, sounding like a happy puppy.

"Leonard," I heard a voice say, and we both pulled apart to see Sheldon ambling up the steps. "The mean Indian lady tried to make me eat lamb. I need you to help me get rid of her."

"What?" I stared at him, irked that our moment of pleasure had been interrupted.

"Sheldon, go inside." Leonard sighed, pushing his glasses onto the bridge of his nose.

"Hmm," Sheldon said, studying the Star Trek statue next to the apartment. "Hello, Mr. Spock." He tapped it, then walked into the apartment as if nothing happened.

Leonard let out a breath. "Ignore him," he said.

"Will do," I confirmed, although it was hard to ignore someone as obnoxious and rude as Sheldon.

"If the date had gone bad," Leonard said finally, straightening up, "I would give you money, bid you goodnight, and send you home."

"But," I interjected. There was always a "but."

"But, since it went well, I will ask you out on another date," Leonard said.

On the outside, I was calm and collected, but on the inside I was screaming like a schoolgirl. "Of course!" I hoped I didn't sound too desperate. I didn't want to sound like someone who was desperate for sex. Which, I wasn't.

"And you have to promise to let me pay for you again," Leonard said.

I pouted, chewing on my lip. "No way."

"Oh," Leonard crooned, touching my chin, "I think the lady doeth protest too much."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Ugh. Writer's block. This sucks- it makes writing seem like a chore. But don't worry, I'm not going to quit writing this story anytime soon, which goes to show because I'm uploading a new chapter.**

Chapter Seven

As Leonard hugged me one last time, he slipped his hand into my pocket. Zoinks! I nuzzled against his chest.

"I'll see you later this week?" Leonard proposed in a low voice.

"Of course." I pulled back and kissed his chin before turning around and waving, heading to my apartment door.

I closed the door. Once I was inside, I leaned against it and closed my eyes and stuck my hand into my pocket. I felt something soft and papery in it.

I pulled the curious object out and saw it had writing on it, and above it Leonard's name.

I bit my lip, smirking and staring at the paper.

While furiously making out with me, he'd given me his number.

That smooth _fucker_.

 **Leonard's POV**

He grabbed his keys out of his pocket and struggled to open the apartment door.

Dammit! The key must have been stuck again. Well, this was irritating.

Leonard sighed, attempting for the third time to get the door open. It wouldn't budge.

"Goddammit." If only Sophie had stuck around a little longer, she could have fixed the door. Maybe.

Okay, maybe he wasn't thinking about the door. The makeout session had been great. Much better than Penny. Although sex with Penny was great, he wondered what it would be like with Sophie.

"Hey, Lenny." A familiar voice, one that he hadn't heard in several weeks, jolted him out of his daydream. "Whatcha havin' trouble with?"

He didn't even need to turn around to know that it was Penny. Prying at him.

"No, everything's fine." Leonard tried to keep his voice neutral- not annoyed, not curious. Just simply bored and uninterested. What was he supposed to say? _Hi, ex-girlfriend who had sex with me and then left me? Hope you have a fantastic night!_ He suddenly realized how bitter he truly was about the whole ordeal.

"Here." Penny walked over, grabbing the keys from him. "I'm pretty sure I can fix it if it's jammed again."

He rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall dramatically. Thank you. Now go away.

She finally un-jammed (or whatever) the door. "Here ya go."

"Thanks," he mumbled, inching into the apartment. Sheldon should be home any moment now. And they'd watch their nightly episode of _Doctor Who._

"How have you been?" Penny asked. Her blonde hair was braided, reaching her hips. She was wearing her rainbow sweatshirt and white cut-off jeans. He remembered falling for her pretty smile and her magnificent, out-going personality. Sure, she was ditzy and clumsy sometimes, but he'd loved her. He felt a pang of guilt hit him. It felt like Chuck Norris had round-house kicked him in the heart.

"Fine," Leonard answered simply. "How about you?"

"Good." She threw him the dazzling, award-winning smile he'd once upon a time dreamed about every night. "I've been hanging out with this guy from school. He's been showing me around his house, it's really nice."

"Is this Mr. Rich Guy?" Leonard's must have sounded more sharper than he'd intended, because Penny sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Jesus, Leonard. It's over. Can't you realize that?"

 _Don't fall for her again. Don't you dare fall for her again._

He inched into his apartment, closing the door in her face. It shut with a resounding click.

He searched around the apartment. God, he needed a distraction. Something to keep his mind off of what had been bothering him, eating him up inside, for the past month.

He remembered her asking him once: "What did I do?"

 _Oh, nothing, besides ripping my soul out for literally two months._

Leonard found his old radio. _Stop thinking!_ He was driving himself crazy. He turned on his radio to some old classic rock station he'd never heard of before.

"I Said the Wrong Thing, to the Right Girl" by Keel began to play.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N So if this were actually a movie or apart of the actual TV show, Sophie would most likely be played by Jennifer Aniston. I honestly have no idea who would play Jake. But it doesn't matter, he probably won't be showing up in the plot very often unless Sophie mentions him or Leonard asks about him. Also, "I Said the Wrong Thing, to the Right Girl" by Keel is actually a real song. It came on my playlist while I was writing the last chapter and thought it fit the story pretty well. Hmm...I really need to stop ranting like this….**

Chapter Eight

I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned. But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't fall asleep.

 _What's new?_

I sat up, brushing my tangled hair out of my face. I considered taking a shower, but then decided against it, thinking it may wake up the neighbors. I'd only lived there a week, it wouldn't do me good to get a noise complaint.

I rolled over and grabbed my cell phone off the nightstand. I punched in Leonard's number and texted him. He was probably asleep. Sometimes, I forgot I was the only insomniac some people knew….

(Through text message):

 **Sophie: Hey. Sorry if I woke you ?**

 **Leonard: It's alright. I haven't gone to sleep at all**

My first, automatic response was to do that single arm-pump yes! But I reigender it and held my phone up, typing again.

 **Sophie: So. You up for a chat?**

 **Leonard: In person, or in text?**

 **Sophie: Either is fine**

 **Leonard: I was kind of hoping in person...but… :(**

I smiled. Okay, so he was definitely flirting now.

And dammit, I was going to do it right back. Maybe I could out-flirt him by the end of the night. I bit back an evil grin and sent another message.

 **Sophie: Be over in five. Should I bring anything?**

 **Leonard: Just yourself.. ;-)**

I sent him the "tongue/winky face" emoticon and set my phone aside. I pulled on my Motley Crue tank top (Shout At the Devil, of course), cut-off shorts, and flip flops. I brushed out my hair so it didn't look like a rat's nest and grabbed my keys and phone, heading out the door.

I didn't care if it was two in the morning. And apparently, Leonard didn't, either. He let me in as soon as I knocked.

"Sheldon's asleep," he said in a low voice. "We have to keep it down."

"Jesus, he's a picky thirty-year-old man, not a kid with sleeping issues," I said, and he smirked.

"Trust me. You won't be too happy when he wakes up."

I smiled, leaning against the door.

I felt a sudden pang of sadness, remembering when Jake and I would sit up like this. We wouldn't have deep talks, we'd just sit there and smoke or listen to Guns N' Roses, then we'd fuck. Not necessarily in that order. Sometimes we'd listen to Guns N' Roses and fuck. "Rocket Queen." Whatever gets you going. Kinky, right?

"Are you okay?" Leonard looked oddly concerned. I touched my cheek and realized I was crying.

"I'm fine," I blubbered, but then turned away. "I always get stuck with the douchiest guys. The ones that just want me for sex, the ones who leave me when I say I don't want to...all they want me for is a sex toy…" I broke down, sputtering and crying like a baby. I turned to go, humiliated. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Or just stay there for the rest of my life, if living was an option.

"Hey, hey, wait." Leonard stopped me. My hand was on the doorknob, sweat racing across my palms.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled. "Maybe I should go." I felt bad that he had to see me like this. Crying made me a victim. Which I hated. Poor, poor Sophie.

"Would you...go out with me?" Leonard asked almost timidly, stepping a little closer.

I blinked at him. "Is that a would I, or will I?"

"Well, it's optional," Leonard said. "So, we have the would, which is theoretically speaking. But then we have the 'will' which is an offering. So-"

I looked him up in down. In his green Uno T-shirt, old jeans, and jump jacket, he looked like a school boy nerd. His glasses and shaggy help.

But it was adorable.

"Why would you choose me?" I jerked my thumb toward my face.

He eyed my chest. He didn't have to say what he was thinking. I knew it already.

"You're beautiful," Leonard said softly. "And kind, caring. And I know you're not using me. You're everything I could want in a girl."

I dabbed at my eyes with my thumb. "Oh my god, of course!" I threw my arms around him, nuzzling into his chest.

"So, do I start calling you my girlfriend…?" Leonard asked hesitantly.

I put my hand on his chest, and said,

"Only if I can call you my boyfriend."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N So it's officially been a week since I last updated. D: I'm sorry, I really am. I've been super busy with school and things are a little hectic in my personal life at the moment. But on the bright side I get out for summer vacation in literally two weeks. I'll have more time to update then! And yes, Sophie is actually a virgin. Forgive me for my mistakes. It's been a long week….*sigh*...**

Chapter Nine

"Hey, whatcha readin'?" Leonard peered over my shoulder.

I showed him the book cover, glancing momentarily. "Ernest _Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls_. Also a Metallica song, BTW."

"So my girlfriend knows literature and can quote heavy metal," Leonard mused. "Huh."

I smiled and went back to reading.

It had officially been a week since we started "going steady" as my good ol' mother would put it.

Things seemed to be going okay. At least for now. But I still had to keep my guard up. For now, it was cuddling on the couch, discussing science, literature, etc. I hadn't been very verbal with Jake. (And of course, I regretted that.)

Sometimes, it got heated. But it was usually a silly kind of heated, a quarrel that would end with Leonard picking me up, carrying me to the couch bridal style, until I squealed and begged uncle. We became movie buddies, discussing movies and debating about them. Leonard was into science-fiction (surprise, surprise), while I was big into romance and Korean dramas, usually the kind that made me bawl like the first time I saw _The Time Traveler's Wife._

He showed me _Star Wars_. I showed him _The Notebook_. It was beginning to become a cycle. I was thinking that this was the only thing we were going to argue about in our relationship. Otherwise, we seemed to be a perfect match. Again, at least for now.

Now, I was sitting at his kitchen counter, holding Hemingway's _For Whom the Bell Tolls_ in my hands, half-reading, half-listening to Leonard's rants and conversations.

Suddenly, his phone rang. I glanced back to the page. I tried to keep to myself whenever he talked to his friends. Some guys were really sensitive about their girlfriends being around their buddies. Some groups of guys wanted to meet the girl, then send her off, we saw her once, don't need to see her again. Then there was the type that was clingy and tried to bond with the said friend's girlfriend.

And so on.

I wasn't sure which was the case with Leonard's friends.

But I was pretty sure Sheldon hated me. Why, you ask?

Well, he always tried to hide whatever he was doing from me. Other times, I'd walk in and sit down on the couch next to him, but he went back to whatever he was doing before I walked in (usually spring theories, which was obviously way more important than me), or continued reading a science book and pointedly ignored me when I tried to make conversation. He ducked behind the counter or scurried off to his room like a scared rabbit, or mumbled something about a roommate agreement as he sauntered off.

It was beginning to annoy me. Despite this, Leonard claimed Sheldon Cooper was a genius, and that he was like cats- very picky with the people he chose to associate with.

"He acts like a sociopath," I'd complained one day over a Caesar salad and pizza. "No regard for anyone whatsoever. It pisses me off."

Leonard had tilted his cup at me. "Geniuses tend to be sociopaths."

"And sociopaths tend to be geniuses," I shot back.

He looked at me, tilting his head to one side. "True," he said at last, then went back to wolfnight down his sandwich.

"Yeah...yeah, I know…" Leonard switched his phone to one ear. "Listen.. why don't we do this? We can have it at my place, and you can bring him over with you."

I frowned. Sheldon wasn't going to like this. I rolled my eyes and went back to reading, my ear turned toward Leonard. No, not literally.

"Does seven o'clock sound good to you?" A pause. "Alright. Okay, great!" He hung up and pocketed his phone, sliding into the seat next to me. "Confession time."

"Throw it at me," I said, marking my place and setting the book aside.

"We have video game night. Every Thursday. With the guys."

"Yeah?" I wasn't surprised. "So, you want me to leave so you can spend time with your buddies." And that wasn't stated in a snobby way. It was said in an oh-okay-I-understand-call-me-later way.

"No, not at all." Leonard put his arm around me. "In fact, I want you to stay so you can meet them."

I wasn't about to ask if the blonde ex-girlfriend would be there. If she was, I'd steer clear of her. Apparently she didn't do well when Leonard got it on with other girls. Which perplexed me, seeing as how she probably slept with twenty guys a week. But that's none of my business.

"Alright." I kicked at the counter with my feet. I always felt like a little kid when I did it because I was so short. "What should I wear?"

"Whatever you want, baby." He made his voice low, a sort of Brad Pitt-like imitation. If you wanted to call it that.

I laughed. "Stop it." I pushed him on the chest. "For real."

"You look really good in that _Star Wars_ T-shirt I let you borrow."

"You mean this one?" I reached behind me and pulled out the Darth Vader shirt. I was becoming desensitized to nerds. Lord help me. The shirt had been hanging on the back of my chair.

"You are so smooth." He kissed me on the forehead, and I swear I almost squealed like a schoolgirl. I liked this feeling. This new, intimate relationship feeling. It still felt like your high school crushes.

"Smoother than peanut butter." I nuzzled into his chest.

"You know, you remind me of mac n cheese." I squinted up at him.

"What the hell?"

"I like mac n cheese," Leonard stated.

I almost fell off my chair.

Yeah. Real smooth.


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N So tomorrow's officially the last day of school for me. I'll try to update as much as I can over the summer, since I have little to no social life it won't be that hard anyway. Thanks for the nice reviews.**_

Chapter Ten

"I thought you wanted to stay single."

Savanna and I were seated at a nearby Starbucks, next to the strip mall in downtown Pasadena. "What happened to the fun-loving, single girl attitude?"

"I guess things took a turn," I said. For the worst or for the best; I wasn't quite sure yet.

"And you hung out with his friends Thursday night, didn't you?" Savanna pressed on.

"Yes." God. "Since when is that a crime?"

"I'm not saying it is," Savanna said. "But hanging out with his friends is total girlfriend behavior. Especially when they play video games-"

"Savanna," I said softly. "Shut up, okay?"

She shrugged, stirring her hot mocha with her straw. "I'm just saying," she said in a low voice as a guy with long hair wearing an AC/DC shirt eyed us from the corner, "you might get too attached. He asked you to be his girlfriend, right?"

"That's what dating is, isn't it?" Okay, so that was a bit too sarcastic. But her grating was getting on my nerves. Especially since she dated her way through high school, and probably wouldn't stop, even in college.

"Just because we're dating," I said, squinting at the water ring my cup had left on the table, "does not mean we're serious. Yes, I said I am his girlfriend. But that doesn't mean we'll have sex or anything."

Savanna looked at me, then let out a laugh, a sort of short, sharp "Ha!" That caused AC/DC Guy to look over at us again, a look of concern on his face.

"What are you looking at?" Savanna asked snidely, flicking her thumb at him.

He shrugged, still looking a little worried, then went became very interested in the menu hanging on the pastel-colored wall.

"Girlfriends don't have to be serious," I told her. "We're just dating our way through the next few months. I don't even know if we'll last that long."

"He had sex with his last girlfriend, right?"

"Yes," I mumbled. This topic of sex was making me uncomfortable. Especially since we were discussing it in a public area.

"So, he's going to want it from you," Savanna informed me, as if I didn't know that already.

So far, the only time Leonard and I had discussed sex was that night in the hallway, when we talked about his history with Penny. Since then, the topic had become taboo. Or so I thought. To Savanna, however, it was available to the public eye- obviously, as we discussed sexual acts at a Starbucks table.

"What do you see in him, anyway?" Savanna continued.

"That sounds really mean," I told her, but she ignored this and said, "Trust me, Sophie. You're going to regret it if you go through with it and it ends badly." When did she become so cynical?

"And I'll regret it if I don't go through with it in the first place," I said in a low voice. "Really, Savanna, it isn't the end of the world."

She snorted, as if she'd heard this before, and took a sip of her drink. "God, it's hot in here."

I rolled my eyes and ran my finger in circles around the water ring on the table next to my cup. My ice was melting.

The previous night, I had been at Leonard's. All of his friends had come, (God, he was popular) and we sat back and played Call of Duty till I insisted we watch an episode of _Seinfeld_ , with Sheldon grumbling about it to himself.

Honestly, I liked his friends. There was Raj, who was from India and, although naive and awkward, was sweet. He'd had his fair share of girlfriends, but seemed to have trouble getting them in the first place. Then, there was Howard, who seemed to act like a fifty-year-old pedophile, (who I tried my best to steer clear of, but more than once I'd caught him eyeing my chest a bit too eagerly), then, there was Stuart, who was shy and geeky, but calm and collected. Last but not least, there was Barry, a "loudmouth" as Leonard had described him, who spoke with a speech impediment quite similar to Bug's Bunny. Although odd, his friends were cute, and I pegged Raj as a guy Savanna would date. I was told he'd once had this weird phase where he couldn't talk to women without consuming alcohol.

"You know, I just think-" I began, but then I looked up to see- speak of the devil- Raj coming in. But a girl was in tow with him. She had red, shoulder-length hair, and wore a Barenaked Ladies T-shirt and ripped jeans, with spiked combat boots. The red hair looked too bright to be natural, I thought.

"Sophie!" Raj enthusiastically dragged the redhead over to our table. "How are you?" He seemed almost shy, and I smiled at his schoolboy behavior.

"Doing well," I answered. "How are you?"

"Wonderful," he purred, then nudged the girl. "This is Katie. Katie, this is Sophie."

"Hello," Katie said, smiling, and I saw she had perfect, white, I-had-braces-since-the-seventh-grade teeth.

"Nice to meet you," I said.

"Savanna?" Katie turned around to Savanna.

"Hey, Katie." Savanna grinned, shaking her now-cold mocha at Katie. "Small world, huh?"

"You two know each other?" I asked, amazed. People didn't get around in this city very much.

"Yep!" Katie rocked back and forth on her heels. "I've been friends with Savanna since our first year in college."

"Indeed," Savanna crooned. I frowned. This was something she'd neglected to mention.

"She is Leonard's cousin," Raj told me, "and Sheldon's girlfriend."

I choked on my water- irritated that Leonard hadn't mentioned that he had a cousin, and even more shocked that Sheldon had a girlfriend.

"You're Sheldon's... _girlfriend_?" I gawked.

Katie laughed. "I know. I was surprised, too," she admitted.

I blinked at her. "He'll barely look at me," I said slowly, "yet he has a girlfriend."

"He's like a cat," Katie said. "Very persnickety with what he likes."

I frowned. "So I've been told." I'd have to tell Leonard that I saw his cousin.

"What are you standing there for?" Savanna patted the seat next to her, as if she was her mom or something. "Join us."

We'll be here awhile, I thought, sighing. I'd planned to have a short visit with Savanna, discussing weekend plans, not have a social group.

In the next ten minutes, I learned that Katie and Leonard had been very close as little kids (and now) after her parents died, and Leonard's family took her in. They were practically brother and sister, even if they came from different parents. Either way, they were family. She came to Pasadena to stay with Leonard till she got her life together, and now was roommates with Amy, Sheldon's ex-girlfriend. (How awkward.) Sheldon and Katie had tried several times to have a baby, but failed.

"I'm trying now to adopt," Katie finished. "You know, in China they have wonderful adoption centers."

"Really," I said. Too much information, I thought. She was the type of person that would tell you all their business, whether you wanted to hear it or not.

I was stuck here for awhile.

I may as well have made the best of it.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N I recently got into Supernatural, and I'm writing a Sam x OC fanfic. Let me know in the comments if you'd like to read it! For now, though, we'll start with the next chapter of The Art of Breaking Up. So, sit back, grab a Krabby Patty, and enjoy the ride.**

Chapter Eleven

"You didn't tell me you had a cousin."

Leonard looked up from the newspaper he was reading (who even kept up with the news nowadays, let alone reading it? Things keep coming up that never cease to amaze me.)

"I didn't think it was that important," he admitted.

"Well, these are the kind of things I'd like to know." Jake had been a distant cousin to Elvis- that was one of the first things that he'd told me. And that his last girlfriend had gotten to meet Michael Jackson (how…?) a few years before he died.

"You have relatives that are dead?" I asked, and he nodded. "Well, that's depressing."

He shrugged and turned on the TV.

"You're a virgin, right?"

I looked up, a tad bit surprised that he would bring this up, when clearly, I had clarified that I was. "Yes." I tried not to sound too irritated.

"That's not a bad thing," Leonard said. "It means we can sacrifice you."

"What?" He couldn't be serious.

"You're pure," he finished, and my middle finger told him what I thought of that statement.

Later that day, Raj and Howard came over. Sheldon was perched on the couch, Katie sitting on his lap. (It amazed me how he could barely look at me, yet he still had a girlfriend. I thought he hated everyone who didn't live up to his expectations.

Raj, Howard, Sheldon, and Katie were still in the living room, but Leonard and I were in the kitchen, getting the food ready.

"How on earth," I asked as Leonard pulled out a tupperware box, "does Sheldon Cooper have a girlfriend?"

"Sheldon and Katie met through me," Leonard said, digging through the cabinets. "I guess they just have a lot in common."

"Like?" I couldn't imagine Sheldon having anything in common with anyone.

"Well," Leonard said, considering this, "I guess Katie sort of taught Sheldon how to feel emotion. Before Katie, he was resistant and shut himself out. Especially after Amy broke up with him. He got almost forty cats after that."

"Wow," I said. "That's quite a story."

"Not just a story," Leonard said with a grin. "It really happened."

"Right." Sheldon was going to end up a mad scientist in a house in the middle of nowhere with 100 cats. "I think he hates me."

"He doesn't hate you." Leonard handed me the tupperware, and I put the potato chips into it. "Like I said, he's much like a cat himself. I think that's why he likes them so much- their personalities contrast."

"I guess." I took the the bowl of mac n cheese from the fridge (that I had made earlier, thank you very much) and set it on the counter. "Leonard?"

"Hmm?" His voice was muffled by the cupboards.

"What do you think Katie sees in Sheldon?" I asked, examining the mac n cheese. It was the Velveeta kind- with creamy cheese and shell-shaped noodles. I was making sure there wasn't any hair or slip-up I'd made with the food.

"Well, what do you see in me?" Leonard leaned against the counter, looking over at me.

"You." I gestured to him with my hand. "You, with your nerdy glasses and Star Wars T-shirt. You're a little weird- and dorky sometimes- but you're really sweet." I leaned against the fridge, arms crossed over my chest, and stared at him.

"You know," Leonard said, coming closer to me, "even as a friend, I...I love you."

Awww. What a dork. But a sweet dork. "Maybe someday it'll turn into more than that," he said quietly.

"Leonard, I like you." I chewed on my lip and put my arms around his shoulders, leaning into his chest. "I like you a lot." _Way more than I did Jake._

He sighed, a sigh that sounded like a happy, puppy-like sigh, and held me closer.

"Maybe someday, it will become more," I murmured, as we leaned into each other, holding onto the moment.

"Sophie?"

"Yes?"

His voice was muffled by my shoulder. "Do you ever just wish you could stop time?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're having a really good time with someone, and you just want it to stop. So you can savor that moment. And, whatever you want to say that came into your mind after that moment, you can say during that moment."

"I just don't think that's possible," I mumbled, always the one to be cynical.

"But what if it was? What if you could? I mean, what would you do?"

"I don't know." I'd never thought of it like that before. "I'd do a lot of things, I guess."

Leonard smiled, pulling me even closer, as the TV in the living room played on, just a segment of the ordinary in your every day life.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N So sorry I haven't updated in awhile, guys. I've just been really busy-**

 **Leonard: Playing video games isn't "busy."**

 **Me: You know what I mean! -.-**

 **I haven't done disclaimer in awhile so I thought I would. I do not own the Big Bang Theory. But that doesn't mean I can't do stuff with it. ;)**

Chapter Twelve

We spread out the food on the table. (And made sure it wasn't "touching", thanks to Sheldon.)

Howard dug into the mac 'n' cheese. "You're pretty and you can cook? I think I'm in love."

Leonard glared at him, and I bit my lip, smirking. Howard was a creep sometimes, but other times, it was somewhat funny.

"Does anyone have plans for July 4th?" Leonard asked, and I realized that it was coming up in a few days. I hadn't thought of what I was going to do.

"To stay inside and avoid all human contact?" Sheldon suggested, earning a slap on the back of the head from Leonard. "Ow!"

"There are some really good fireworks downtown," Raj said. "We could all go watch that. Howard could bring Bernadette."

"Get your own girlfriend, Koothrappali," Howard said flatly.

Leonard jerked a finger at Howard. "Leave him alone. Sophie, any ideas?"

"Back home," I said, stretching my legs out, "I used to sit out on a blanket with my parents and watch them. We'd go out into a big field near our house and camp out there after the fireworks were over. It was always really fun, and it sort of became a family tradition." I felt my throat tighten, and I looked over at Katie. She was so quiet that I forgot she was there. I guess holidays were somewhat touchy for her, as her parents were dead and she didn't really have anyone to go home to. This might have been a touchy subject.

"So, how long have you and Sheldon been together?" I asked, changing the subject to spare her feelings.

She smiled. "For about a year now," she said cheerfully, sitting up like a happy puppy.

"That's great." Couples always liked to brag about how long they'd been together. "I'm glad Sheldon finally met someone."

"We're engaged," Katie added, and I choked on my mac 'n' cheese. Raj slapped me on the back repeatedly until I managed to get the air back in. I took a sip of my water.

"What?" I managed at last, gasping for air.

Katie smiled. "It took awhile, but I finally broke him." She wrung her fingers in his. "He asked me to marry him right after my last miscarriage…" She looked sad for a moment, but then perked up again, as if she was trying to keep herself happy for our sake. "Anyways, we're getting married in the fall. You're all invited."

"And not a moment sooner," Sheldon added as she curled up against him.

Sheldon hated social interaction, so I wasn't sure how he would handle a wedding.

As I picked up everyone's empty bowls, I noticed the glinting wedding band on Katie's finger.

That night, I came back to Leonard's apartment after showering. I'd talked with Savanna on the phone for about an hour, then called my mother, who kept me talking for over three hours. She was back at work, she'd said, and was complaining about bad customer service and rude colleagues. I'd finally told her I had to go, and she'd begrudgingly hung up.

I texted Leonard: _Wake up. I have a surprise for you._

I then put on a thin white sweatshirt, short shorts, and decided to go barefoot- it's not like I would step in anything too filthy just walking across the hall.

I walked over to his apartment, knocking on the door two times, trying my best not to imitate Sheldon's knocking pattern- which, in the two weeks that Leonard and I had been together, I'd noticed he knocked three times, saying your name between each time. It was a weird quirk that, apparently, they'd all been trying to get him to break.

The door opened. Leonard stood there in Spider-Man pajamas, his hair looking like Cosmo Kramer, awry in all directions.

I pulled off my shirt, and ran in.

We made out against the wall for a few minutes, then Leonard pulled back.

"Should we?"

"Yeah."

We walked into his bedroom, and I crawled under the covers.

"Are you sure about this?" Leonard whispered as I kicked off my pants.

I nodded, not saying a word. He got into bed tentatively, as if I'd yell at him if he did the wrong thing.

"Come on," I whispered, pulling him over me.

"I mean, if this is your first time…." Leonard mumbled, fumbling to find the zipper to his pajamas.

"It's okay," I murmured, unbuttoning his shirt. "I want it to be with you." What the hell was I saying? I'd barely known this guy for a month. I chewed on my lip. What if he tried to leave me after sex, like all the others? No, he wouldn't do it. _Please don't go._

While I battled with my inner thoughts, he finally managed to undo his clothing and slid them off. I gasped a little, then bit my lip to hold it in.

I felt him in me, and we both dove in, only I going under.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N I don't have much to say, but here's a little poem:**

 **Roses are red**

 **Violets are blue**

 **My new job is making me tired af**

 **But here's a new chapter just for you**

Chapter Thirteen

Some people would say a hot shower is better than sex. But I'd say both are equally as great. While sex is more thrilling and awe-inducing, showers are relaxing, and help you think into oblivion. With sex, you could pound out your frustrations of the day, while spending quality time with the one you love as well.

I pondered this odd comparison as I stepped out of the shower, wrapping the orange towel around my waist.

I pulled my wet hair into a sloppy ponytail and walked into Leonard's bedroom. He turned around, facing the wall.

"Leonard, we just had sex," I snapped, sitting down on the bed. "I don't think you seeing me naked is going to be a big deal."

"Right…" Leonard mumbled, awkwardly shuffling over to the bed and stretching out on the red comforter.

I pulled on my pre-sex clothes, which still smelled. ( _Note to self- don't wear this outfit in public for awhile. And clean the sheets.)_

"So, how was your first time?" Leonard peered over at me, his facial expression and body language clearly showing that he was interested. For some reason, I felt like he was trying to stare into my soul. I squirmed.

"It was...great." I immediately felt stupid after the words had left my lips, and I knew I was blushing like crazy.

"Just great?" He didn't even bother to adjust his glasses, which were falling off the bridge of his nose- a quirk of his that drove me crazy. Sometimes, he got so engaged with what he was interested in or talking about that it got physical- wild gestures, bodily fidgets, and awkward positions. In that time, his glasses would fall of his nose without him realizing it, and I would have to push them up before it began to piss me off.

"I mean, it was more than great," I said quickly, fumbling for another adjective to describe sex. Kinky? Nah. Wild? Nah-da. _Intriguing? Hmm. Maybe I'll go with that word._

"It was intriguing," I said decisively.

"Intriguing, huh?" Leonard moved closer to me, putting his arm around my shoulders. "What about me is so intriguing?"

God, I suddenly felt like such an idiot. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. I could feel my face growing hot again. Why did he do this to me? "I mean, you weren't too rough. You were gentle, and you seemed to understand that I was nervous. You took your time."

"You? Nervous?" Leonard repeated, as if this was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

"Put your shirt back on, Superman." I handed him his Superman symbol T-shirt (which I didn't even know he had, till I found it in his cushions during sex), and he blushed furiously.

"Ha! Who's embarrassed now?" I teased as he scrambled to put the shirt on.

"Not me," he muttered, his voice muffled by the shirt. It was halfway over his head, halfway onto his body, and scrunched up at the bottom. I yanked it all the way down so it covered him.

"There you go, sweetie." I patted his chest.

He gave me a chastened look, then leaned against the pillows.

"What should we do for fourth of July?" I murmured, snuggling against his chest.

"Have another great round of sex?" Leonard suggested, and I pushed on his chest with my palms.

"Stop it," I squeaked.

"Am I that bad in bed?" A speck of humor glinted in his eyes.

"No!" My voice gave into a childish whine. "I just...don't know what to think, that's all."

"Was Jake good?" Leonard asked, all serious all of a sudden.

I suddenly felt a growl rising in my chest, almost like a dog, but managed to keep it out of my voice when I spoke carefully. "Before I met you, I was a virgin, right? But I came close. I came really close, so close. The night before we broke up, I...I…." I broke off, tears suddenly filling my eyes and threatening to spill. "The closest thing we ever did was heavily make out. But we almost came close to fucking. The night before we broke up, we were in bed together, we started picking at each other's clothes and planting sloppy kisses on any part of our bodies we could reach." I sounded so dramatic and Shakespeare-esque that I almost threw up. "He took off my pants, and started to take off his…but…" I took a deep breath. "But then, I told him I wasn't ready." I managed to get out the latter sentence without crying.

"Sophie, did Katie and Sheldon get to you?" Leonard asked, a hint of honesty in his voice.

I tensed up. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, when they were talking about how they were trying to have a baby and get married," Leonard said cautiously, leaning on one elbow, "you acted all weird. You looked like you were about to bolt."

Was I really that easy to read? I stared at him, and I knew I must have been scowling, my pouting visible. "I don't know," I mumbled, looking down and picking at the quilt. "Maybe. I mean, I've always wanted to take care of children. I've always loved little kids. I guess that's because I was an only child." Because I felt embarrassed, I quickly changed the subject. "Sooo, Leonard, what was your years of youth like?" I asked in a sing-songy voice, hoping he'd get the hint.

"Uh," he said, blinking at me from behind his glasses.

"Did you just say 'uh'?" I gave him a cold glare that made him finally wither and give in.

"Well, what is it to know about my childhood?" Leonard asked, as if he'd never discussed this with someone.

Now I could see why Penny got so irritated by him. "I mean, what was your first movie? Were you close with your mother? Were you always obsessed with science and Star Wars?"

"Uh…" Leonard blushed. Uh-oh, I thought. I'd definitely hit a nerve. This could get interesting, I decided, a smirk curling my lips.

"My mom is Beverly Hofstadter," he said at last.

"Heyyy, I know her." I sat up. "Didn't she write a book?"

"Uh-huh, she did," Leonard muttered. "Growing Up With Boys. Bed-wetting. Masterbation. Basically, anything that came out of me, she wrote about it."

"Oh my God." I bit back a laugh as to protect his feelings.

"Weren't you a bed-wetter as a kid?" Leonard asked, his voice growing high-pitched, and I burst out laughing, unable to control myself anymore.

"Ahhh...I'm sorry," I said between laughs when I realized he was still blushing and glaring at me intensely. "It's just, I never was a bed-wetter."

"Of course you weren't," Leonard mumbled.

"It was just a phase." I slapped his leg. "What age did you stop?"

"It wasn't as early as you'd hope," Leonard said sheepishly, and I burst into a fit of giggles again.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his shirt. "Laugh it up."

"I just gave my virginity to you, Mister, so shut up."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N Do you know how much it sucks being grounded? It sucks a whole lot. But I don't think I'll get into that. For those of you questioning Leonard and Sophie's relationship, they're doing just fine, and I have a lot in store for them in the next few chapters!**

Chapter Fourteen

It was Fourth of July. Independence Day. America Day. Whatever you want to call it, it was the day that celebrated America's departure from England.

Leonard and I sat in the kitchen, preparing for the day. We each had to cook something for the cook-out tonight, and I chose to fix my mother's mashed potatoes recipe. So, mashed potatoes wasn't usually associated with Fourth of July, but it was good to try something different every once in awhile. Sheldon, at first, persisted that we stick to the usual July 4th feast- hot dogs, hamburgers, and beans. He looked like he was ready to have a meltdown when I suggested potatoes. But Leonard and I kept grating and poking at him till he finally wore down and agreed, begrudgingly, to let me change up the menu just a bit.

As I started the mashed potato maker (A/N I can't remember what it's called, forgive me for sounding stupid), Leonard washed plates, and Sheldon sat perched behind his computer, eyes glued to the screen.

I finally was able to fix the mashed potatoes after dropping the bowl, then proceeding to clean up broken glass shards off the floor. I wasn't sure if I had gotten all of the leftover pieces, but the bottom of my foot was sure to find it later.

"Ooh, can I lick the spoon?" Leonard asked childishly as I started washing the dishes. I rolled my eyes, smiling slightly, and handed him the spoon, which he took and licked excitedly.

"What else that tongue do?" I winked at him.

He paused, his mouth still on the spoon, looking clueless.

I sighed. "Never mind." I yanked the spoon, which was now shiny and licked clean (imagine how many germs were on it) and put it in the dishwasher.

"The next time you engage in coitus, could you keep a lower profile?" Sheldon asked, an irritated tone to his voice. "I could hear your moans of sexual pleasure from across the hall."

I blushed. How infuriating. "You heard that?" And embarrassing.

"Of course I did." Sheldon sent me an annoyed look. "You make it quite obvious that you were shoving each other's genitals against each other."

I grinned, looking over at Leonard, who was obviously humiliated. His hands covered his face, and he was peering at me through his fingers. "Make it stop," he groaned, his voice muffled by his palm.

I poked his chin with my finger. "Not a chance, Hofstadter."

Leonard ducked as the frisby zoomed over his head like a flying saucer.

"Watch it, buddy!" A nervous tone tinted his voice.

Sheldon knelt down, picking up the orange frisby. It was the soft Styrofoam kind- the type they use in public education gym classes so kids don't wham each other with plastic. (A form of bullying, I had once been told.) Sheldon used the soft kind because the last time he used a frisby as a child he got hit in the nose, and went home with a bleeding nostril. I didn't bother to ask the rest.

"Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas played on the overhead radio, which Raj had insisted upon putting on the porch railing. We were holding our cookout at Howard's mother's house, since she gave us permission to use her yard. Howard was in his thirties but still lived in her basement, his statement being "she needed someone to take care of her, and why not her own son?" I wanted to ask what happened to Howard's father, if anything had happened to him at all, but decided against it, not wanting to pry.

Howard's mother was loving, kind, and possessed a shrill, Brooklyn-accented voice. But she made for a good mother and even better cook.

I approached Leonard.

"Hey, doll-face." Leonard pecked my cheek.

"Hey." I smiled. "What do you think I should do about the grill?"

Leonard and I looked up. Howard was dancing around in circles, trying to keep the spatula from hitting the ground as he flipped the burgers. One of the burgers looked blacker than tar, and a hot dog had fallen off the grill.

"I'm a little worried about Wolowitz over there," I said in a low voice, looking at Howard out of the corner of my eye. He was now kneeling down and picking up the half-burnt hot dog off the grass, brushing it off with his fingers. As if that got all the germs off of it.

I wrinkled my nose. "Remind me not to eat that hot dog."

Leonard grinned. "Raj can have it." He kissed the top of my head and walked toward the grill. I decided to follow him, doing my best to stay back a couple of paces as to not look too clingy.

Truth is, I was never good at social events. I'd always felt awkward at dinner parties, and even at 4th of July cookouts with my family. I always hid in the corner with a book, or lingered in the doorway, a dish that my mother asked me to please hold for her, in my arms, not sure what to do. I followed other people's leads, laughing when they laughed, waving goodbye, and talking in a "how do you do" cheery voice.

But somehow, this was different. I felt more at home. Maybe because someone I trusted was at my side with me.

Leonard was demonstrating how to grill a hot dog the right way to Howard. (I shot them a look of disbelief- didn't you know how to do that automatically?)

"You gotta roll it," Leonard said slowly, as if explaining a math problem to an over-sized five-year-old. "You gotta roll it to the ride side, then flip it over, like a hamburger."

There was an awkward silence. Then, Bernadette, Howard's girlfriend, who had already had a couple of drinks herself and was getting a little tipsy, said: "I bet that's not the only thing he rolls."

"Shh!" Someone hissed, followed by tittered laughter.

"When will Katie get here?" Bernadette asked, taking a polite sip of her wine. "Sheldon said she'd be joining us for dinner."

"She will be," Sheldon stated, licking ketchup off his fingers sloppily. "She just needed to get her things together. By the way, Katie is pregnant again."

I choked on my drink, setting the Coke bottle down. Howard slapped me on the back repeatedly until I was able to gasp for air again.

"When's she due?" I asked between shallow breaths of shock.

"Any day now," Sheldon said proudly. "Our offspring will be female."

"A girl?" Bernadette translated, her cheeks turning red with emotion. "How amazing!"

Well, if Sheldon Cooper could get a girl pregnant, anything could happen.

"Sheldon, why didn't you tell us?" Leonard asked, sitting down at the table next to me. He had mounds of hot dogs and hamburgers on his plate, along with the mashed potatoes that took me over an hour to fix.

"We wanted to make sure the infant wouldn't….," Sheldon drifted off, his eyes averting from us. "You know."

"Aww, sweetie." Bernadette patted Sheldon's hand. "I know it's been hard, but I'm sure the baby will be fine. She'll be a wonderful little girl."

Sheldon looked down at his food, digging in again. Obviously the subject was uncomfortable, as many topics were around here. Jesus, it was like stepping through a land mine.

I swallowed my hot dog, suddenly not hungry.

"I bet that's not the only thing you swallow." Howard winked at me. My eyes widened. He was actually flirting with me? When his girlfriend was right next to him?

"Howie!" Bernadette swatted him with a paper plate. "That's rude."

I'd lost my appetite.

Honk honk! Our heads turned toward the sound of the car. A vehicle had parked in front of the house.

"She's here!" Sheldon got up, leaping off his seat and bounding across the yard to greet his fiancée.

Leonard laughed. "I haven't seen him this excited since the last _Star Wars_ movie."

"It was pretty good…," I mumbled, recalling the film. I had seen the opening with Savanna. Since I dragged her along with me to see Disney movies, she forced me to go see Avatar and the new _Star Wars_ movies.

Katie and Sheldon walked over to the table, arms linked. Sheldon pulled out a chair for her, and, I noticed as she sat down, that indeed, her stomach protruded, showing the late stages of pregnancy.

"It's so amazing that Katie is finally pregnant," Raj said, taking a bite of his hot dog. Apparently cows were sacred in India, so he avoided the hamburgers altogether.

"Isn't it?" Katie smiled, looking down at her bulging stomach.

"Do you have any names picked out?" Bernadette asked, setting her empty wine glass aside.

"Esme," Katie said determinedly. "Either Esme or Leah."

"I like Esme," Bernadette said. "It's sweet and quiet."

"Or you could name her Mrytle, after the penguin at the zoo," Raj suggested, and Howard looked at him, his eyes squinting. "I think I liked it better when you couldn't talk to women."

*2 hours later*

"Guys, come on!" Bernadette tugged at Katie's shirt. "The fireworks are about to start!"

We all crowded outside in the yard, me sitting on Leonard's lap, Katie cuddled up to Sheldon, his arm around her. Bernadette and Howard stood nearby, clasping hands, and Raj waved firecrackers around. I let out a quiet snicker. The poor guy was the only single one at the party. Maybe I'd hook him up with Savanna if she was ever interested.

Something in the sky cracked.

"Whoa!" We all stared up at the sky. We could see the stars mingled with pink and orange fireworks. A few burst into the air, one a bright purple color.

"Look!" Bernadette pointed. "It looks like a heart." Indeed, the purple haze had taken form of a cartoon-style heart.

"Totally against the true human anatomy," I heard Sheldon scoff, followed by a giggle from Katie. "Don't ruin the moment, Sheldon." Suddenly, she let out a cry of pain, clutching her stomach.

"What happen-" I asked, but Leonard stood up, grabbing me and pulling me over to Katie.

"I think her water just broke!" Bernadette cried, looking over her shoulder frantically. "I'll go get a towel. Howie, you get the water."

"Yes ma'am," Howard answered, and they both darted into the house.

"Relax, take deep breaths," Leonard said, rubbing Katie's tummy. If anyone had known any different, one might of thought Leonard and Katie were a couple.

Katie was panting, her breath shallow and her stomach heaving up and down with every forced breath.

"Think relaxing thoughts," Leonard said softly, and I felt my heart melt. He definitely knew how to take care of a woman- especially since Sheldon stood there, flabbergasted and not sure what to do.

"Sheldon, get a pillow," Leonard barked.

"Well, what's the need for that?" Sheldon blinked.

I slapped his shoulder. "For when the baby arrives, genius!"

"I am indeed a genius, thank you," Sheldon said proudly.

I rolled my eyes.

"Just go get the supplies, Sheldon," Leonard snapped as Katie let out another howl of agony. I'd never watched someone give birth before- unless you count on National Geographic- so this was raw and uncensored.

"Leonard…" Katie said between breaths.

"Yes?"

"I hate to say this, but...can you pull off my pants?" She breathed. "Sheldon is inside and I don't….,"

"It's fine." Leonard reached over hesitantly. "Are you sure?"

She squeaked against as another contraction wafted through her body. "Yes! Just do it."

"Here comes the big one…," Leonard mumbled, pulling off her pants. They were tossed aside as Sheldon ran out, carrying blankets, and followed by Howard, Raj, and Bernadette.

"Towel and water, comin' through!" Howardette bellowed, carrying a bowl full of hot water and a white towel.

"Push!" Bernadette encouraged as Katie stretched out.

"Push, push, push, push," the guys chanted, clapping with every "push" uttered.

"Come on girl, you can do it!" I exclaimed over the roar of the fireworks. What a time to have a baby!

With one last shriek, Katie pushed out the infant. There was a moment of silence, and my heart felt like it was in my throat.

We all looked at each other, praying that what we were thinking wasn't real.

But then, much to our relief, the shrill sound of the baby crying was heard.

Katie let out a sigh of relief as Bernadette cleaned the blood off the baby and wrapped it in a towel,then handed it to her.

We peered over. The baby looked just like Katie- with tufts of white-ish/blonde hair that would someday turn strawberry-blonde hair on her head. She was tiny, but strong, and held her mother's hand with one little finger.

Raj wiped a tear from his eye. "I think I'm going to cry."

"Me, too," I confessed, realizing I felt more emotional than usual.

Katie looked up at me and smiled. "Would you like to hold her?"

"Really?" My eyes widened. "I mean, she's yours, after all….,"

"No, I'd like it." Katie gently passed me the baby, and I held her in my arms, rocking her. She closed her eyes, looking peaceful.

"What's her name?" I asked, looking over at Katie.

"Esme," Katie said proudly. "Esme Marie Cooper."

"Esme," I repeated, and Esme grabbed my finger with hers.

"Welcome to the world, Esme," I said, as a blue firework burst into the air, with little trails of blue and white following it.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N I'm so sorry for not updating you guys! I kind of went MIA for a few weeks because I was at my dads and his wifi sucks. But I'm back at my mom's house, so, hoorah! I can update again. I'll try to get the wifi to work at his house next time since he's 40 years old and technology-impaired. Anyways you're probably tired of hearing me rant by now, so let's get to the fifteenth chapter! I can't believe how successful this story has gotten. Yay! Also, I'm gonna start quoting songs before every chapter- songs that fit the chapter. But I don't own those either, obviously.**

 _"It's just a little hard to leave when you're going down on me"- Nickelback, Fight For All the Wrong Reasons_

Chapter Fifteen

Everyone was dog tired. Sheldon and Katie took their new-born Esme home, (to Katie's roommate's house) Bernadette and Howard settled in Howard's house for a movie night, and Leonard and I decided to sit in the car to watch the last bit of fireworks- if they counted as fireworks. The neighborhood kids were throwing sparkles in the air, while a couple of teenage boys lit firecrackers from a distance. Fourth of July was a very noisy holiday.

"Hey, Leonard?" I leaned back and my seat and stretched.

"Yeah?" He was messing with the radio, trying to find a station that wasn't country or fuzzy.

"Remember that psychic we went to? What was it she said about us?" I was trying to remember her prediction, see if it was actually accurate or what we'd spent our $20 on was garbage. Probably the latter. "I wasn't listening to half of it, I thought she was a fucking whacko the whole time."

"'Your love will come with a price'," Leonard mimicked, using air quotations.

I snorted. "Yeah right." But something about the statement sent chills up and down my spine.

"She did say Penny was out of the question," Leonard wavered a bit. "And look at us now. Isn't that accurate?"

He wasn't wrong.

"Leonard?" I kicked at the dashboard, my boots scraping against the plastic.

"Yeah?" He finally settled on a classical music station.

I lowered the volume, a tad bit, so we could talk, but still listen to the music at the same time. "Be honest with me here, and I'm not accusing you or attacking you or anything, but: are you completely over Penny?" I'd dated guys who only used me as a distraction from their previous girlfriends- I was otherwise known as the "sidechick" or "homegirl", and nothing pissed me off more than that. I'm not an option, and I'm definitely not a second fucking choice.

"I'm over her," Leonard said, but I heard a sort of question mark in his voice. Uh-oh, I thought, but brushed it aside as his general geeky awkwardness. "She used me." His voice cracked a little. "I was just some void she was filling. She was lonely, that's all. And when I wasn't good enough, she pushed me aside."

"Oh Leonard," I sighed, putting my hand on his leg and squeezing his thigh comfortingly. I had always comforted my girlfriends after breakups, saying all the usual things like "he's an asshole", or, my favorite "you're better off without him." I was always the one that was there for others. But the thing is, I couldn't help myself, nor were people there for me.

I shot him a look to see what he was really hiding, and I saw his eyes were glistening.

"Are you crying?" I leaned closer to get a better look.

"No!" Leonard wiped at his face with the back of his hand. "I just...needed to vent a little, that's all."

"I understand," I said in a low voice, avoiding eye contact with him.

"I should have told you before we got into this," Leonard said slowly, and my heart joined NASCAR and started racing.

"Are you breaking up with me?" I tried to pretend like I was strong, but my voice defied me. Goddammit.

"No, of course not." He shook his head. "Why would I?"

I felt my heart slow down, and I no longer felt like I was about to collapse. "Oh," I mumbled. Although relieved, I had already gone through the seven stages of grief in my head.

"I was going to say," Leonard continued, turning the radio all the way off, "that I break easily. Despite my hard outer core, I'm fragile. I try to put on an act of confidence, feigning arrogance and toughness- and ultimately, that fails. I have no real personality. I'm simply a copy of others and try to mimic their actions, for the good of who I care about." He sounded depressed. I wondered if he should see a psychologist about this.

"Leonard Hoftstader, you listen to me," I said, taking his hand in mine and squeezing it. "You're not just a copy to me, okay? You have flaws, of course, but to me, that's what makes you perfect. You're more than an ego to me." _What am I saying?_ "Just don't abandon or betray me, and we'll be all good. Even if we break up, your secrets will still be safe with me. And you'll still have a friend in me, no matter what."

"Thank you." Leonard allowed himself to relax, and a bit of a smile shown through.

"Hey," I said, "don't thank me."

"Habit," Leonard murmured, and I laughed softly, taking my hand in his.

"Guess what?" I piped, digging around on the floor. I was looking for the beer case Howard had given me earlier, just before we got into the car. "I've got beer." I finally managed to find it and brought out two Bud Lights, cracking them both open. I was an expert at that.

"I don't usually drink," Leonard said hesitantly, taking the cold cap from me, "but what the hell."

I laughed, and we put our cups together.

"To Fourth of July," Leonard said. "To Independence Day, the day we separated from England."

"Those bastards," I said loudly, and he laughed.

He lowered his voice, "And to us."

"Huffah," I said. "To us."

"Huffah, indeed," Leonard agreed, and I grinned as we clinked our cups together. I took a sip of my beer.

"Should I play 'Born In the USA'?" Leonard asked, fumbling for the radio dial again.

"No, that's too corny.." I chuckled. "How about...this?" I turned the radio on, and "The One and Only" by Chesney Hawkes started to play.

"I am the one and only, nobody I'd rather be…"


	16. Chapter 16

**_A/N We're moving in literally *checks calendar*...a week. So my wifi may be down for awhile. Bleh. But you guys are so *sniff* amazing! *sniffle* I had no motivation to write this week because of stress, but the reviews made my day and made me want to write_** **more!** ** _Tell me, is my character good? Bad? In between? Meh? Keep the good reviews coming!_**

Chapter Sixteen

"You did what?!" Savanna cupped her hand over her mouth, staring at me wide-eyed.

"Keep your voice down!" I hissed, gazing my eyes over the restaurant.

"But you finally did it!" Savanna squeaked a bit too loudly, causing a couple of passerbyes to give us a concerned look. "That is big, Sophie. Like...beyond big. I thought you'd die a virgin."

"Albert Einstein died a virgin," I said. "No way in hell would I fall into Albert's category."

"But...Albert Einstein was really smart." Savanna blinked at me.

I took a sip of my wine. "Exactly. I'm smarter."

"Says the woman who had sex with a man two weeks into a relationship," Savanna scoffed, and the woman across from us tilted her head to one side in curiosity.

"Savanna." I gripped her shoulder. "For real. People are staring."

"This is big news, though," Savanna protested, jutting her lip out and biting it. "The whole world should know!"

"No, no they shouldn't." I set my wine glass down and made a face as the sour liquid from the previous sip slid down my esophagus.

"I need another beer," Savanna groaned, rubbing her head.

"You really, really don't." I pulled her beer back to my side of the table.

"Am I gone?" Savanna peered at me through her fingers.

"Not yet," I muttered under my breath.

"Hey waiter!" Savanna waved her arm around vigorously. "We need more drinks!"

"God help us all," I said.

The waiter, an older, dark-skinned man with a cropped military cut, nodded and went to fetch the drinks.

Guess who's cleaning up puke tonight, I thought to myself. This was a mistake. Savanna didn't know how to hold her liquor. Or beer. Or any alcohol beverage she consumed. The last time she drank, she got really sick. But I guess that doesn't stop her.

"Are we still going to see that movie?" Savanna asked as the waiter set a couple of margaritas onto the table. "What was it called? The Private Life of Dogs?"

"The Secret Life of Pets," I corrected, cringing.

She grinned. "Sounds...busy."

"What?" I stared at her. "Uh, maybe we should skip the movie tonight and go this weekend. You seem-"

"Great!" Savanna cut me off. "Just great!" She took a big gulp of margarita.

I sighed.

We left the restaurant after a fish sandwich and two more margaritas, and walked out (for Savanna, stumbling), onto the sidewalk. The humid July air was worsening, but not to the point to where it was unbearable. Still, perspiration was spreading on my neck, causing my black Beefy Hanes T-shirt to stick to my back. Luckily, I was wearing white faded shorts and pink flip-flops, so I wasn't dying, at least.

"If...I...were a weal...thy...man!" Savanna bellowed, tilting her head back at the sky. "It looks like the clouds are changing colors."

"Savanna, only LSD trips cause colors to change," I said in a slow, sing-songy voice; as if I was talking to an oversized four-year-old.

"Yeah, I think it's a good idea to skip movie tonight," I decided as she hopped from the squares on the sidewalk like a little kid.

"Anything's good with me." She winked at me, and I clutched my stomach in annoyance.

"Savanna?" I heard a deep voice bellow. "Is that you?"

We turned around, Savanna grabbing onto my arm to steady herself, to see a young man with shaggy brown hair approaching us. He was wearing blue jeans, Converse, and a white T-shirt with the Grateful Dead skull on it. He had one pierced ear with a diamond stud.

"Max!" Savanna beamed. "It's great to see you."

"Oh no…," I mumbled, looking down at my shoes. Max was Savanna's ex-boyfriend, who dumped her in our senior year of high school. They went "steady", as kids liked to call it then, for about three years, and Savanna was devastated when he dumped her, explaining that "it was summer and they should have the freedom to see whoever they wanted."

Bullshit. I don't know who was more pissed off about the relationship ending, Savanna or me.

"How are you?" Max put an arm around the said girl. "Man, it's good to see you."

I wanted to leave, but I didn't want Savanna to get herself into trouble. Meaning, fall for her ex boyfriend, again. She'd just gotten over him, for Christ's sake- after piles of Kleenex and nights of _Arrested Development_ re-runs, she'd finally put her big girl panties on and decided to live the single and ready to mingle lifestyle.

"And Sophie?" He beamed at me. "You haven't changed much. You guys are still joined at the hip."

"Of course we are." I tried not to grit my teeth. _Asshole_. I wanted to punch the guy, but decided a scum bag like him wasn't worth the jail time.

"Good thing a pretty little thing like you isn't wandering the streets at this time of day." He shot her a wink, and I wanted to throw up. "Maybe you better skedaddle."

"But...what about the movie?" Savanna pouted, fumbling with Max's shirt collar.

"What movie?" Max's lip curled up in an almost seductive manor, but his gaze was focused on me. "You guys going lesbian now?"

I flipped him the finger.

"Feisty!" Max chuckled lowly. "Just the way I like 'em."

Giggling annoyingly, Savanna tried climbing onto Max.

"Uh...sweetie, I think we should try again when you're sober," Max said cautiously, helping her stand.

"But it's never fun when you're sober," Savanna said. Or slurred.

"It's been nice meeting you again," I said in a fake voice, grabbing Savanna non-too-gently, "but I think we should go home."

"I was having fun, but better safe than sorry." Max grinned. His arrogant attitude had always pissed me off. He thought he was an expert at everything, including Savanna. Apparently, he'd had a long history of being a trouble-maker, especially in high school, and was a slacker at heart. God, why did Savanna always fall for the sloppiest guys?

"Well, I'll see you girls around." Max jerked his thumb at both of us. "Take care of my baby tonight, okay, Sophie?"

"She's not your 'baby' anything." _Not worth the jail time. Not worth the jail time._

"Hmm," Max hummed, as if he was coming to a conclusion. His life would if he didn't get the hell out of here.

"Savanna! Sophie!" I heard a familiar accented-laced voice.

I looked up to see Raj running toward us, dressed in a flannel, jeans, and regular shoes.

"Raj?" I stared at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was taking Cinnamon for a walk," he said, gesturing to the Yorkie terrier at his side, "and saw you guys. Trouble?"

"Uh, no," I said smoothly. "Max here was just going to leave-"

"Who said I was?" A smirk tugged at Max's lips.

"Aww!" Savanna knelt down beside Cinnamon, who I then noticed had a pink bow on one of her brown ears. She was cute, I had to admit. But petting a dog was the last thing I wanted to do at this moment.

"Can I pet her?" Savanna looked up at Raj with pleading eyes, looking like a kid who wanted one last cookie before bedtime.

"Of course." Raj bowed his head respectively.

"God help us all," I muttered.

"Not before I do this-" Max grabbed Savanna, trying to reach his hand down her shirt, but, even her alcohol-induced state, she attempted to push him off.

"Get...off...me…" But with her voice slurred, the demand didn't seem as powerful.

"You know you want it." Max tugged at Savanna's shirt, pulling it up. "You know you're askin' for it." He was still trying to get the shirt off, but only made it to Savanna's neck before a fist pummeled against his face.

"Ow!" Max wailed, pulling back and rubbing his face. "What the hell, man?"

"You don't touch a girl when she says no." Raj glared at Max, his fist mid-air.

I gawked. Raj, who was usually reserved and shy in general, had just punched Savanna's ex fucking boyfriend.

"Goddammit!" Max held his hand to his throbbing cheek. I rolled my eyes. It was bruised, and he maybe had a broken nose, but Jesus, it wasn't that bad.

"Hey!" I heard a man yell from across the street. "Knock it off, or I'll call the cops!"

"Everything's taken care of!" I called in a fake voice.

"Let's get this big baby to the hospital," I said.

"Why?" Raj stared at me, as Max moaned, and Savanna rocked back and forth on her heels.

"He's likely got a broken nose," I said. "If they ask, say he was drunk and fell." Raj nodded. "Is your car nearby?"

"Yes."

Raj half-dragged, half-carried Savanna, while Max, protesting all the way, followed us, me carrying Cinnamon. Whoever was watching us probably thought we needed to be sent to a mental asylum.

"There ya go, that should fix you right up!" Max moaned in pain as the nurse, a chubby blonde with glasses, stitched his nose back together.

"Ouch." Max placed a shaky hand on the bruised area of his cheek. I grinned. Raj could pack quite a punch.

Savanna was passed out on the bench next to me.

"How did he get hurt?" The nurse threw a concerned glance my way.

"He was drunk," I said, trying to make my facial expression serious, "and fell down the steps."

"Ouch." The blonde winced. "Next time, make sure he controls his drinking, if possible."

"We will try our best," Raj assured her, and I covered my mouth to keep from laughing.

"Sir, there are no dogs allowed in the hospital," the nurse reprimanded, eyeing the brown pup.

"She's a helper," Raj told her.

"You're welcome to go home," the nurse continued with a sigh. "But I'd keep an eye on him for awhile, or at least make sure he doesn't drink anymore."

"Yes ma'am." I smirked.

They finally released us. Savanna was wide awake now, her eyes bright red, and looked around. "What the hell happened?"

"I'll explain later," I muttered as Max bolted down the sidewalk, not looking over his shoulder.

"Damn, Raj." I laughed. "I think we need you around more often."

"Don't get drunk on the sidewalk again, and you won't need me." Raj grinned at me to show me he was joking, but part of the warning was real. I'd have to reel in Savanna's drinking next time.

We started walking, Savanna hovering near Raj. I still carried Cinnamon, but didn't mind- the dog was licking my face and cuddling against my chest.

I was exhausted, but at the end of the day, everyone was alright.

Raj walked Savanna home after Sophie went back to her own apartment. The girl looked annoyed and tired- it was best if Raj put out the rest of the fire.

"I just wanted to thank you, for saving me." Savanna grinned bashfully at Raj. "I'm just sorry you had to see me that way." Cinnamon sat next to Savanna, chewing on her paw.

"I didn't save you," Raj said gently. "I just helped."

"I'm sorry," Savanna said again, her eyes glistening over.

"Don't be sorry." Raj averted his gaze from hers. "I'm just glad you are safe."

Savanna sighed, her hand on Cinnamon's scruff. "I don't normally do this," she admitted, standing, "but I'm gonna pay you back."

"Oh no, you don't have to-" Raj was interrupted by Savanna's lips pressing against his. Raj's eyes widened, but slowly, he kissed back. Savanna put his arms around Raj's shoulders, and he allowed himself to relax in her embrace.

Finally, the two pulled apart.

Raj was blushing furiously, staring wide-eyed at her but grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

Savanna smiled. "That was for saving me."

"That was the best gift I ever received," Raj said. "Better than the solar system model I got for Christmas when I was eight."

Savanna laughed, linking her arm around Raj's shoulders, and pecked him on the cheek, before disappearing into her doorway.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N So I was wondering how many chapters I should do. I was thinking 21 or 22, but maybe 25. What do you guys think? Let me know in the reviews, and if there are any ways on how to make my story better!**

Chapter Seventeen

After the exhausting events of that evening, I plopped down on the couch in my apartment. Leonard was at working doing a project, and I had nothing else to do, since Savanna would probably be too hung-over to watch movies with me, so I turned on the TV and began watching _Supernatural_.

Halfway through the show, I heard a tapping at the door. Assuming it was Leonard home from work, I sighed. "Come in."

*knock knock knock* "Sophie."

*knock knock knock* "Sophie."

*knock knock knock* "Sophie."

The knocking was more uncontrolled and repetitive.

Rolling my eyes, I got up and opened the door. Standing in front of me was Sheldon, dressed in a Captain America T-shirt (with a blue long-sleeved T-shirt underneath), jeans, and regular shoes, looking frantic.

"Sheldon, what's wrong?" I put my hand on my hip. "What are you doing here?"

"Please, I don't have much time!" His gaze flitted about the hallway, as if making sure no one else was there.

"What about Esme and Katie?" I started, but he pulled me down by my shirt collar so I was closer to him.

"Ow!"

"Katie and Esme are asleep," he whispered.

"And?" I scowled, prying his fingers off of me. "Why'd you come to me?" As good as it was to be needed, I had better things to do than to look after a grown man.

"I needed more supplies," Sheldon admitted, rocking back and forth awkwardly on his heels. Suddenly, there was the sound of rain hitting the tin rooftop, followed by a clap of thunder. Sheldon whimpered like a dog, stepping backward and nearly falling down the steps.

My eyes widened. "You're scared of thunder, aren't you?"

Sheldon sighed, his shoulders slumping, and nodded, his gaze toward the green-carpeted floor.

"Why didn't you get Katie?" I whispered.

"She was asleep, if you can't recall," Sheldon replied. "Esme was weeping all night long and I can't-" Another boom of thunder sounded, and Sheldon shuddered.

He looked at me with almost pleading eyes.

"Alright, fine." I opened the door wider and stepped aside. "But don't-" He pushed me aside and ducked underneath my arm, heading toward the sofa, sitting in what he claimed was "his spot."

Sighing, I walked in, closing the door behind me.

I sat across from him in the chair, unsure of how to respond to all of this. My boyfriend's roommate had broken into my apartment because he was _scared of thunder._

"I thought you hated me," I admitted, saying aloud the thoughts that had been on my mind since Leonard and I started dating.

The addressed man shook his head. "I have no reason to."

"Then why…" Suddenly it all clicked. "Oh," I said quietly.

"Oh, what?" He looked over at me curiously.

"You thought because I didn't like science or wasn't a doctor, that I'm not smart." All the pieces came together. Although a couple of egos could be dented in the next five minutes, Sheldon and I needed a peace treaty.

Sheldon, a seemingly ashamed expression on his face, nodded in confirmation. "I discovered, over the past several weeks that you and Leonard have engaged in a relationship, that I was incorrect with this assumption. You are quite intelligent, I am impressed with your knowledge of literature and history."

I wasn't sure how to respond to all this. Sure, it would have been simple to respond to someone who wasn't a genius, but this was surprising. "Uh, thanks." I tried to hide the question mark in my voice.

Sheldon leaned foreword. "If I may ask, what is your major in college?" He rested his head on his elbow, staring at me with some curiosity that made me twitch.

"I don't particularly have a major. I went for a year and then dropped out." Was I seriously opening up to Sheldon Cooper? Someone call Victoria because her secret's out!

"Is Leonard aware that he's courting an ex-university drop-out?"

I turned red.

"That wasn't meant to offend." Sheldon shook his head back and forth frantically. "I apologize."

"No, it's fine," I sighed. "No, Leonard doesn't know. But...can you please not tell him?"

He stared at me.

"It's not that I don't trust him or anything," I said quickly, twirling my hair with my fingers, "but I don't think he'd like to admit that he's dating an ex-university dropout when he's an intelligent physicist."

"He wouldn't be bothered," Sheldon said.

"What?"

"I've heard him talk about you," Sheldon told me. "Not in a negative way. He seems to be happy around you. His eyes...how do I say this...light up, as some would put it, when he speaks of you."

I felt a smile tugging at my lips, but the moment was ruined by another clap of loud thunder.

Sheldon pulled one of the orange cushions off the couch and put it over his head.

"Oh Sheldon." I sighed. "Come here." When he didn't obey the request, I sat down next to him, but not too close as to not seem creepy.

Once the rumbling of the thunder subsided, Sheldon tentatively pulled the pillow off his head and eyed me, almost like a scared puppy.

I smiled. "It's okay," I said.

"Thank you…" Sheldon blurted out. "For letting me come by."

"It's not a problem." I crossed one leg over the other. "You know, Sheldon, I am here if you ever need to talk…"

"Thank you," Sheldon said, shifting his weight, "I'm alright now."

"Good." I nodded. "You know what? Tomorrow, this never happened."

"Deal."

Something was ringing in my ears. Loudly. I could have sworn I was dreaming, but when I picked up my cell phone my assumption was unconfirmed.

"Hello?" I said into the phone, my voice still slurred from sleep.

"Soph…" The familiar voice sounded weak and tired.

"Leonard?" I sat up, fumbling for the lightswitch. I swore under my breath when I couldn't find it, eventually falling off the bed.

Leonard's voice crackled through the phone again: "Is everything okay?"

"Uh...just fine!" I sucked in my cheeks and stood, leaning against the bed for support, and finally located the lightswitch above the bunk. "What's up?"

"There's...something I need to tell you." His voice was muffled behind the speaker.

 _Uh-oh._ I frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Can I come over?" I looked at the clock. The red digital dials indicated that it was 12:30 A.M. "I know it's late- or should I say early- but I want to talk to you."

I sighed. "Can this wait? I have work tomorrow."

"I finally figured out what was bothering me," Leonard said softly. "I was taking a shower and it suddenly came to me."

"So, what is it?" I was trying not to get impatient. I had to be at work in- I checked the clock again- T minus six hours, and counting. My performance in the work area was weak if I didn't catch up on a good night's sleep.

"Don't freak out when I tell you this-" Leonard began, and I let out a sigh of exasperation.

"Leonard, the only thing that's gonna make me freak out is if you don't tell me what the hell is wrong." I was losing sleep by the second.

"But...I...I finally figured it all out, why my relationships are so short. I hurt other people while trying to figure myself out."

I remained silent, my eyes squinting against the bright light of the yellow lamp.

"I hurt others," Leonard said quietly. "And I don't want to do that to you."

"Have you hurt me so far?" I asked, even though the question was obvious.

"No but-"

"The only thing that's hurting me, Leonard," I said slowly, fumbling with the phone, "is how you're making my hours of sleep go down."

He breathed in the phone. "Can I see you? Tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"What time do you get off?"

"Five."

"So, can I see you?"

"If you can find me." I grinned and ended the phone call.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N My lovely depression has kicked back in, but I read all your kind reviews and it's cheered me up. :) You're all so nice! Thank you. I'm definitely continue and have an itching urge to write now! Also, in this chapter, "Nightswimming" by R.E.M will be mentioned. I obviously don't own that song or anything by R.E.M., but I do love the song itself! Not to mention it reminds me of Leonard and Sophie, if you look up the lyrics….**

Chapter Eighteen

I finally got off work the next evening. I got into the car, closing the door, buckling, and pushing the keys into the ignition. But to no avail.

"What the hell?" I muttered. Please don't tell me I have to jumpstart it… I did have a chord in the back, right?

"Shit!" I couldn't get the car to start. It was the Little Engine That Couldn't.

Stuck I was, so I got out my cell phone, which was thankfully on full charge.

Since Savanna was obviously not an option after the events of the other night (and she called herself a responsible adult…?) I dialed Leonard's cell.

Riiing. Riiiing….RIIIING! "Come on!" I gritted my teeth, and, just as the voicemail went off, it was interrupted by the phone being picked up.

"Hello." Leonard's voice came through the speaker.

"Hey, it's me. I'm stuck." I stuck the key into the useless ignition one more time so he could get proof.

"Where are you?"

"In my work parking lot," I said smoothly, tossing the keys on the floorboard of the car.

"I'm on my way." He hung up the phone.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I leaned against the back of the sea, closing my eyes. But I was tired of being saved. Why couldn't I be saved for once? I wasn't some weak, naive woman who needed to be catered to.

I was too caught up in my thoughts to notice Leonard pulling up. So I was startled when he honked his car horn.

I jumped, rolling down the window. "Thank God you're here."

"I didn't bring the chords," Leonard said, getting out of the car, "but I can give you a ride back home."

I glanced at the ignition, which was still empty. "Well, as long as I bring my keys home I'm sure someone won't steal it." And I didn't have any special possessions in the seats.

"Your chariot awaits," Leonard announced as I got into his car.

I rolled my eyes and slung the seatbelt over me, only satisfied when I heard the click of the seatbelt

Leonard started the car, pulling out of the almost-empty parking lot. This whole situation probably looked weird from a distance: I was the only one left in the parking lot leaving for home, and my car was still left in a space while I rode off in someone else's car. I decided to think nothing of it.

I finally broke the silence, deciding to pick up where we left off last night: "So, how do you hurt people?"

He sighed, glancing at me momentarily, but then back at the road. "Like I said, I try to act confident but in reality I'm very insecure. I then try to put that confidence in relationships and end up screwing those up, too. I think that's why...Penny ended it with me."

"You mean, you try to be something you're not?" I proposed.

"Exactly."

"Maybe you can find that within yourself someday," I suggested softly. "Who you truly are."  
"What are you, my therapist?" He smiled. 'No, you're right."

I looked at him. Today, he was wearing an Uno shirt, baggy jeans, his green jacket, and Converse so old together with tape. He still had on his trademark glasses.

Leonard cleared his throat. "I, uh, I'm sorry that I woke you last night," he said somewhat sheepishly.

I smiled. "No," I said, shaking my head. "It feels nice to be needed."

"You know, I don't think I was ever able to talk this deeply with Penny," Leonard murmured. "She'd always get bored or get exasperated."

"I don't," I said.

He chuckled. "I know. You _are_ my therapist." He reached over, putting his hand on my leg, and I gripped his hand with my own. I felt immediately warmth surge through my body.

"Leonard, did you ever consider...marrying Penny?"

He hesitated before saying, "Once. But now, I'm glad I didn't. I wouldn't have found you otherwise."

I no longer blushed like a schoolgirl when a compliment was thrown my way. "I'm glad you found me, Leonard. Hell, I'm glad that- I found you."

"Me too." He smiled. "You were my only source of happiness during a breakup."

Both my brows went up.

"I didn't mean it like that," Leonard said quickly, the car almost swerving. "I mean, you helped me move on. You helped me find my true self. That person that I think I'm finally happy being." He took a deep breath. "You're not some void, Sophie. And I'm sorry if any of your ex's did that to you."

"Me too…," I mumbled, opening the dashboard. "Is it ok if I look through your CD's?"

"Go for it."

Smiling, I shuffled through the CD case. (The Ramones, Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Blue Oyster Cult, Jane's Addiction. A lot of college and alternative rock from the late 80's and 90's.) I finally settled upon Automatic For the People by R.E.M.

The first track, one that I was all too familiar with, came on.

 _"Nightswimming deserves a quiet night_

 _The photograph on the dashboard taken years ago_

 _Turned around backwards so the windshield shows_

 _Every street light reveals a picture in reverse_

 _Still it's so much clearer."_

The car slowed to a stop, and we ended up curled up together on the back seat, making out furiously, the song still going.

"Let's go see a movie," Leonard murmured as we kissed.

"What movie?" He began to pull my pants off, and I did him a favor and tossed them on the floorboard.

" _The Dark Tower_. We need some more bonding time."

I tried figuring out how those two sentences belonged together, but somehow I couldn't. "What?"

"Okay, not _The Dark Tower._ How about _Atomic Blonde?_ " My hand froze where I was removing his shirt.

"Forget it." He pushed me up against the seat. "We can just stay here."

"Both of those titles," I moaned, putting my hands on his chest, "sound terrible."

"And is this better?" Leonard was finally able to remove his pants.

I smiled. "Much better."

The piano-filled music still continued, as we saw ourselves, our reflection of two people becoming a hole, in the dashboard mirror.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N Ugh. I had a bad case of writer's block and not to mention I just moved into my new house last night ...bleh. My personal life is really hectic right now. I know there isn't much to this story right now, except for Leonard x Sophie fluff. But I'm gonna add some more stuff to it, plus I don't want Sophie to be a dreaded...MARY SUE. But if you're still interested in reading, sit back, grab a Krabby Patty, and enjoy the ride.**

Chapter Nineteen

I woke up around noon the next day. I had a raging headache and dry mouth. I felt as if I had a hangover, which was odd, considering I hadn't had a drink since the night Savanna got shitfaced drunk and Raj knocked that scumbag Max out.

 _Speaking of which…_

I grabbed my phone. No messages from Leonard. _Hmm_. That was weird. He usually leaped at the opportunity to text or call me, and I usually woke up to five unread messages from him. Weird and out of character.

Savanna and I's last phone conversation was from the night before she got shitfaced drunk.

I snorted. She hadn't even remembered the name of the movie we were going to see, and it was technically a kid's movie. I had to hand it to her, she could drink if she wanted to.

Her words, even in text, were jumbled and unintelligible. I shook my head and shoved my phone into the drawer of my nightstand.

I got out of bed, showered, hoping the hot water would cleanse me of all my sins, dear Lord, and got out, drying off and getting dressed. I pulled on an Ozzy Osbourne T-shirt (a hand-me-down from my cousin), faded jeans, and brushed out my hair.

As I was fixing myself hot tea, I heard muffled ringing sounds. Someone was calling me. I frowned, mentally debating on whether I should answer or not.

In case it was Leonard, I decided to answer: I ambled into the bedroom, the phone vibrating obnoxiously on the table. As I knelt down to grab it, I bumped my arm (right on my funny bone) on the nightstand's door handle. (It had a little door handle on the outside to put your necessities in, my elbow collided with it). The said motion sent me springing onto my back, my feet in the air, clutching my tingling funny bone and swearing. While waiting for the uncomfortable sensation to subside, I picked up the phone with my hand that wasn't completely numb.

I didn't even bother to check the caller ID. "Hello?" I probably sounded annoyed and unapproachable. It was most likely a telemarketer.

"Hey." A woman's thin voice came from the receiver. "Is this Sophie?"

"This is she." I held the phone away from my ear and glanced at the caller ID. Leonard. What was a woman calling me through Leonard's phone for? Was he cheating, too? Maybe I was more attached than I thought.

"Um, this is Penny," the woman said. "Can you come to my apartment? I know this sounds weird but Leonard is hurt."

"He's hurt?" I was slightly pissed that he didn't come to me, but more worried than angry. "Wh-what happened?" I never tripped over my words or stammered.

"Just come, okay?" Her voice thickened, and she hung up the phone. Trying to keep my anger at a minimum, I tossed the phone on the bed and hurried out the door, not bothering to close it.

Luckily Penny's apartment was just a few doors down from mine. I raised my hand to knock, but the door opened before I could proceed.

Her long, sandy-blonde hair was awry, like she hadn't brushed it in days, and she was wearing a pink flower-patterned tank top and white shorts.

"What happen-" I began to ask, stepping in. Leonard was sitting on the couch with a cold washcloth pressed against his forehead. He looked pale, and I noticed that he had a scratch that was forming into a long scab next to his eye. His glasses were lying face-up on the table next to him.

"Jesus, what happened?" I sat down next to him, gently removing the washcloth. He had a gash on his forehead- and bruises surrounding it.

"Leonard." I felt my heart beating against my chest, and rapidly growing faster, but I tried to stay calm as to not freak him out. "Can you please tell me what happened?"

"I think...I think I got jumped," he managed to get out, and Penny exchanged equally confused glances.

"Start over," Penny said.

"From the beginning," I added.

He took a deep breath and took the washcloth, which was beginning to grow dry, and pressed it against his forehead. "I was coming home from work. I was halfway to the apartment complex when a bunch of guys tackled me." I winced. "One of them started beating on me, and another punched me. I got thrown up against the building, and my head slammed onto the wall face-first."

"Ouch," Penny seethed.

I took his hand in mine. "We should take you to the hospital," I said, crossing one leg over the other, "and then press charges."

His eyes widened. "No, don't do that."

"Why not?" Penny looked exasperated. "Leonard, they almost _killed_ you."

"I….just don't want to cause any trouble," Leonard pleaded almost timidly.

"Enough trouble has already been caused," I said bluntly. "Come on, Leonard. Let us do this for you."

"You've got two chicks standing up for you," Penny quipped. "You should be happy."

"Seriously," I pressed. "This is definitely not good. If there's gang activity in the area, we need to report it. Especially if they're attacking people."

"But why would they attack Leonard?" Penny put her finger on her chin. "As far as I know he hasn't been involved in any gang activity."

"Obviously not," Leonard said irritably.

"Leonard, did you get a good look at any of the guys?" I asked. I knew I was prying, but in situations like these, you needed to pry.

"One looked like…" Leonard's eyes suddenly widened.

"What?" I sat up straighter. "What is it?"

"I….I think it was Kurt," Leonard blurted out.

"Who the hell is Kurt?" I looked at Penny for help.

She was biting her trembling lip. "My ex-boyfriend."

I turned back to Leonard. "Did you recognize anyone else?"

"No," Leonard admitted, defeated. "But...one of them did say something."

"What?" Penny and I demanded in unison, exasperated.

"He said… 'This is for taking my girlfriend'."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N I'm hoping to get the last two chapters of this story down by the time school starts Tuesday….wish me luck! I have wifi back now so I can type a whole extra lot for you guys. And about Penny...I don't want her to make her into a complete heinous bitch, although I didn't think she was right for Leonard. I'm figuring something out...How am I doing? I need constructive criticism! Anyone who knows me knows I love it when people help me work on my stories.**

Chapter Twenty

I felt my hands clench together in fists at my sides. That bastard _had_ done it. I gritted my teeth and tried not to make it look obvious- but it probably was. I was fuming.

Leonard looked up at me with puppy-like eyes. "I only went to Penny's because I couldn't make it up the rest of the hallway. Don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you, sweetie." I swallowed my pride. "I'm just glad you're okay." What I really wanted to do was go find that bastard Jake and pummel him to the ground. How the hell did he find out where we lived, anyways?

"I wonder if Jake has somehow been stalking me," I thought aloud, more to myself than to the others in the room.

"Have you given him your address?" Leonard asked, sitting up and wincing from the effort.

"No," I said, frowning. "Why would I? Unless…"

"Kurt probably saw you coming in and out of your apartment," Penny analyzed with realization. "He and Jake must have ganged up and waited till Leonard was alone to attack."

"Jesus." I cringed. But why Leonard? Not that I wanted to get attacked, but they should have attacked me instead of my boyfriend. It was a more logical- I did more wrong to Jake than I did to Leonard. And Leonard didn't even know Jake.

"This isn't making sense," I said quietly.

"Just let it go, Sophie." Leonard slid his hand over mine, the warmth engulfing my wrist. "It's over and done with now. We don't have to worry about it anymore."

"But what if it happens again?" Penny proposed what I was thinking out loud.

"Exactly," I agreed, looking over at Leonard. "We really need to keep an eye on this, Leonard. Getting thrown against a building till your head bleeds in pools isn't exactly something to brush aside."

"I hate to say this, but she's right," Penny said cautiously. "We need to get you checked out, and press charges."

Leonard started to protest audibly, but Penny held a hand up. "Leonard, even though you and Sophie are dating, I can still worry about you, you know."

He gulped and nodded.

"Let's get you to the hospital. Where's Sheldon?" Only when Penny asked did I notice that the addressed man wasn't present.

"He's preparing to move in with Katie now," Leonard said with a sad smile. "Guess I need another roommate, huh?"

I patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry, hun. We'll get that all worked out."

"And I thought I would be the one who would move out first." He sent me a knowing smirk, and I couldn't help but smile. Even when in obvious pain and anxiety, Leonard still managed to make the situation light. What a hell of a guy.

"Can you stand?" Leonard got up to test this question, but only tripped slightly.

"Here." I linked his arm around me, and put his arm around my shoulder.

"Let's get you to the ER."

We headed out into the hallway, hesitating at the top of the steps.

"Well, this should be fun," I said aloud.

"It'll take awhile." Penny frowned. "I don't think he can go that long without some sort of medical attention."

Even though what I knew I had to do would look silly and risky, I also knew that I'd rather my boyfriend return home in one piece. (No, not the anime.) I knew it had to be done.

I took a deep breath and picked Leonard up, throwing him over my shoulder cave-man style. Although skinny, he was fairly heavy, but not heavy enough to crush my back. I'd carried heavier boxes when Savanna helped me move in.

"Sophie?" Leonard cried in obvious surprise. "What the hell are you doing? I'm bruised, not paralyzed!"

"It's the only way…," I grunted as we walked down the steps. Penny had a look of amusement on her face. "I don't know if this is cute or awkward." (A/N Here's where "I Get Knocked Down" starts to play xD )

My bones jarring, I ran the rest of the way down the steps and set Leonard down.

He leaned against the doorway that led outside. "You didn't have to do that."

I grinned. "It had to be done. Come on, Tenderfoot." Linking my arm with his, and Penny ranking the side, we headed to the car. Leonard and I sat together in the backseat, while Penny took the wheel.

"At least we're not driving with Sheldon," Leonard pointed out optimistically. "He'd complain about how we're mixing up the roommate agreement the whole way."

I gave him a grim smile. "Well, we're not gonna worry about roommate agreement right now. As far as I'm concerned, he can go shove the roommate agreement up his ass."

"I like the sound of that." Leonard kissed me on the lips, and I kissed back, my fingers trailing his uninjured cheek.

"Ow." He winced, raising a hand to his head.

"Sorry." I giggled, grasping his hand in mine. "I guess we'll save the kissing for later."

"I can stand the pain." Leonard winked, and I covered my mouth with my hands to hide my wide-ass grin.

 _Why does he do this to me?_

We arrived at the hospital a few moments later. I helped Leonard out of the car, Penny leading the way this time. We speed-walked through the glass hospital doors- they were the kind where you stepped in and it went around in circles before opening another door. I nearly smacked into the glass.

The buffy, shiny walls made me think of a hotel more than a hospital. Which was a good thing, I suppose, if you were sick or dying and wanted to think of your stay in a hospital as a permanent vacation. A hardwood desk sat in the middle of the lobby, surrounded by plastic chairs that smelled like medical equipment surrounding it.

A dark-skinned woman, maybe in her mid-fifties, sat behind the desk. I assumed she was the receptionist. She was wearing a tight pink shirt and had her hair in a very noticeable mohawk.

"Walk-in-clinic?" She didn't look up as she questioned us.

"Uh, yes ma'am."

Pencil in hand, she directed us to the seats. "Wait your turn right there, hun. We'll be with you in a minute." She then stuck her pencil in her mouth and began typing something vigorously on her computer.

I nodded, and Penny and Leonard sat across from each other on the seats. I headed to the reception desk.

I drummed my fingers on the table. "Do I need to sign in, or….?"

"Oh!" The woman pulled the pencil out of her mouth. "Right here, suga." She pushed a piece of paper toward me. "Then fill out the patient's form. Y'know, diseases, disorders, allergies, age, weight. All that jazz."

I nodded, wrinkling my nose as she went back to work. She talked too much. I guess it's because she sat alone at that boring desk all day. And I thought being a librarian was boring.

Sighing theatrically, I sat down next to Leonard, gripping the paper and clipboard she'd given me in my hand.

"Any disorders?" I asked him, and he took a deep breath.

"Oh boy, here we go. Let's see, lactose intolerant-" I copied it onto the paper with a nearby ink pen- "asthma, sleep apnea, prone to car sickness, migraines, bloody nose after jogging, and quite possibly heart disease."

My eyes widened at the latter. "We need to get heart disease checked out-"

"Already done," he said in a low voice, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

I rolled my eyes and scribbled the rest of what he said down. He answered the other questions, such as weight, age, height, birthday, etc. Luckily, I knew when his birthday and what his age was, so I could have put that down as well.

"Leonard Hofstadter?" We looked up at the nurse standing in the doorway.

"That's me." Leonard stood. His balance was a bit better now, but he seemed rather sleepy, so I guided him to the hallway. I looked over my shoulder. Penny was still seated. I looked at her curiously, but she gestured for me to go on in. I shrugged and followed Leonard and the nurse into the brightly-lit hallway. We were led into a small room with a hospital bed and monitor, along with several other medical machines I didn't know the name of.

"Will he have to stay the night?" I asked as Leonard sat down on the bed.

"Well, we haven't determined that." The nurse, a young blonde who looked to be fresh out of medical school, smiled reassuringly. "But most likely not." She pulled out her equipment and listened to Leonard's heartbeat. "Everything seems okay there." She put the stethoscope around her neck and pulled out a pair of gloves, snapping them onto her head.

"I see your wound has already been addressed." The nurse, whose nametag read Dr. Meyers, peeled the wrap off of his forehead.

"Uh, yeah. It was taken care of at home," Leonard said awkwardly.

"For the most part." I leaned against the wall.

Dr. Meyers reviewed the sheet of paper. Her eyebrows raised a couple of times, but if she noticed that Leonard had a lot of medical conditions, she didn't let on. I allowed myself to relax.

"I'll go get Dr. Reynold. We'll discuss whether he needs surgery or not, but the matter isn't likely." Dr. Meyers smiled softly at me. "But better safe than sorry. And how do you know Leonard?"

"He's my boyfriend," I said slowly.

"Well, thank you for taking him." She smiled again.

I nodded, and she walked out of the room. I closed the door and sat down on the bed, which was more like a table, beside Leonard.

"How are you feeling?" I pressed a hand against Leonard's forehead. With wounds you could sometimes get fevers, if the wound was open and went without attention for long enough.

He sent a mischievous glance my way. "Do you think the doctors would mind if-" he pulled at my shirt- "we had sex on this table?"

I laughed. "Stop it," I said, pushing him away gently. "They probably would. They have enough to clean up anyways. Besides, this isn't Grey's Anatomy."

"Well, I'll take them up on that offer." Leonard kissed my cheek.

There was a knock on the door.

"It looks like Mr. Hofstadter is free to go home," Dr. Meyers said, and Leonard and I looked up. "We just need to clean out the wound and change the bandage, and he'll be good to go."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

She took out a gauge and removed the one that originally had been on his forehead. Making a face, Dr. Meyers cleaned the wound with disinfectant (Leonard winced and swore under his breath at the stinging) and changed the gauge.

"Alright, Mr. Hofstadter, you're a free bird," she announced, and Leonard linked my arm in his.

"Let's go home."


	21. FINAL CHAPTER

A/N This is it! This is the last chapter of The Art of Breaking Up. It's been awesome talking with you guys and writing. I'm gonna try and make this chapter extra long! I'm planning on making a sequel...will Sophie and Leonard get married? Maybe. Maybe not! ;D The last reference in the story will be a Supernatural quote between Sophie and Leonard: "Can I shoot her?/Not in public." Obviously, I don't own those that either. I wish I did. *sad face* But here we go with the last chapter! Tell me if I should make a sequel or not!

Chapter Twenty-One

"Remind me to never take a walk at night again."

We were seated at Leonard's apartment, eating Chinese food and watching television.

I poked his side. "Not every walk turns out like that."

Leonard shrugged. "Not going to take the risk again."

"I'm gonna kill that asshole Jake if he ever lands a hand on you again." I paused, then added, "No, if he even _looks_ at you."

"Sophie." He linked his arms around my shoulders from behind. "I'm fine."

"He could have killed you." I reached behind me and trailed my fingers along Leonard's neck. "I'm going to stop that from happening again."

"I was thinking," Leonard said, standing, "that we should go out to eat."

"I was thinking that I agree." I followed suit. "Just let me get a warmer jacket."

He nodded and grabbed his car keys. It was much more quiet without Sheldon around. Even though we didn't have to worry about the awkward exchanges and annoyed scoffs when schedules were changed by just a hair, we kind of missed having him around. Or at least I did- even though he'd been a major pain in the ass, I'd seen a side to Sheldon that even Leonard hadn't seen.

Oh well.

He had Katie and Esme now.

Grabbing my purse and warm jacket, I slipped out the door.

"I thought we were going out to eat." Confusion made Leonard's statement come out as a question.

"We are." I took another turn. "We just need to make a quick detour." As much as he wanted to keep a low profile, we needed to report the incident to the police. Kurt and Jake could go die in a hole for all I cared, but first, they needed to be turned in.

Leonard's anticipation was obviously growing. "Sophie, where are we going?"

"To the police station, okay?" I was losing patience fast- not with him, but with the whole situation. _Stupid Jake_...I wanted to punch something. "We need to turn them in!"

"Sophie," Leonard said softly as I pulled into the police station parking lot, "I'm not finking."

"This is punishable by law," I spoke slowly. "As it needs to be. Come on...please? For me?" I reached over and squeezed his hand. "I promise I won't bring it up anymore if you let me. Besides, it'll be for your sake, too."

He exhaled. "Alright," he agreed tentatively, rubbing his thumb against the palm of my hand. "Let me come in."

"Of course." I ducked my head and turned off the car, preparing to get out. "Let's get going."

The police station was nothing like I expected it to be. There were no cops wrestling tough-looking gangsters to the ground, no jail doors slamming, or police sirens wailing. In fact, it seemed almost...calming. Nothing like in the movies.

All we had to do was fill out a form, reporting what sort of incident had happened, and wait for a policeman to get to us. We sat in blue plastic chairs, hands clasped, waited.

"Hello." We looked up at the sound of a deep voice that sounded like it was coming from the bottom of a well. "I'm Officer Bagsby." (A/N I don't know if that's a real last name or not, I just randomly came up with it off the top of my head.) "You filled out press charges?"

I gave him a grim smile. "We did."

"Well, we'll have that taken care of immediately," Officer Bagsby promised. He was an older guy, maybe in his mid-60's, with a balding head, wearing a bright blue uniform. He had a pistol on his belt. I wondered if he ever had to use it. "I'm deeply sorry you had to go through that. It must have been highly distressing to both of you."

No kidding, asshole. "It was. Thank you for taking care of it."

We shook hands with Officer Bagsby.

"This is normally a very pleasant neighborhood," he said, puzzlement coloring his tone. "Had you been involved in anything to have triggered the act? It's not your fault, of course. Attacks are sometimes provoked, and sometimes, they have no meaning at all."

"Maybe some people are just dicks," I suggested, and Bagsby actually allowed himself to smirk at this comment.

"People can be unkind, yes."

"One of the perpetrators is my girlfriend's-" Leonard gestured to me- "ex-boyfriend. He's the one that pummeled me."

"Jake Bonham," I added. "That's my ex-boyfriend's name."

Officer Bagsby nodded in understanding. "Thank you for reporting. We can't allow this sort of thing to happen again. We want to make this neighborhood as safe as possible. We'll be sending out a squad to make arrests."

"Thanks, Officer." I stood, grabbing Leonard by the hand and pulling him up.

"No problem." Officer Bagsby gave us a friendly wave before heading into the back of the station. The door opened, and a female officer leading a German shepherd on a leash walked in, heading for the desk.

"That wasn't so hard now, was it?" Our hands were still entwined as we walked out of the station.

"I just didn't want you to have to go through the trouble." Leonard sighed.

"Oh Leonard." I pecked him on the cheek. "It wasn't any trouble. Even if it had been, I would have been happy to go through it with you." I wanted to grimace at how cheesy that sounded. I wasn't usually one to go for cliches and Mary Sues in fanfiction or movies. Lately, Leonard had been making a Mary Sue out of me- but it hadn't been as bad as I thought it would be.

"Get off me!" I heard a familiar voice shriek. "I said get off me, you fucking asshole!"

We both looked up to see a burly looking guy with cropped blond hair pushing….Penny….up against a nearby wall.

"You know you want it," he said- or slurred, he was clearly drunk as a skunk. "You know you want it."

"I have a boyfriend!" I knew for a fact that Penny was single, but I knew she was using a ruse to get him to leave her alone. But I doubt he would leave any girl, even if she had a boyfriend, alone.

The guy had Penny straddled, his arms pushing against the wall above her head and shoulders so she was trapped. I inwardly groaned. What a dolt. This idiot was trying to assault a girl, in broad daylight, right outside of a fucking police station. Not that attacking someone was cool, but if you wanted to attack someone, you shouldn't do it outside of a police station.

The man was tugging at Penny's clothes, attempting to pull her shirt up over her head. "You know it's been awhile since you've given it to me." Penny looked terrified, even though she was trying her best to remain strong. _You go girl!_

"Hey," Leonard said cautiously, stepping foreword, "leave her alone."

The man turned around, a sort of "deer in the headlights" look in his eyes. _Busted_. "What did you say to me, punk?"

Leonard took a deep breath. "I said, Leave. Her. Alone."

The man dropped his hands to his sides, looked at both me and Leonard, and snorted audibly. "You want me. To leave her alone." He said it as a statement.

"No shit," I said loudly.

"Alright." The man spat into the grass. "I'll leave 'er alone." He turned to Leonard. "But you're askin' for it, kid." Grabbing Leonard, he kicked him in the side, causing him to keel over in pain.

"You asshole!" I screamed, at the same time Penny exclaimed, "Kurt! Stop it! You'll kill him!"

So this was the jerk-off that had beat Leonard up the first time. At least he was consistent.

Leonard put his hands up, trying to remain calm, but fell over as Kurt kicked him in the other side, causing Leonard to groan in obvious pain.

"Stop it. Stop it!" I screamed, and Kurt turned to face me, a sort of dead look in his eyes.

"Your ass is grass."

I looked at Leonard. "Can I punch him?"

"Not in public," Leonard said through gritted teeth.

Shaking my head, I raised my foot. Although I hadn't taken karate and didn't have a very powerful kick, I delivered a very forceful kick to Kurt's balls, my Vans going directly into his groin- a place no man ever wanted to be hit.

Kurt let out a yowl of agony and keeled over, clutching his testicles. "Penny! Sophie! Goddammit, you bitch!"

I rubbed my hands together, brushing imaginary dust off my jeans. Although triumphant, I was pretty sure I'd broken a toe from the impact of the violent kick. Maybe I needed to be checked out along with Leonard.

"Wowza." Penny stared at me in shock. "You can pack quite a kick. You go, girl!" Penny slapped me a five, and I grinned.

"It had to be done." I turned and looked at Kurt, who was still writhing in pain on the grass. "And one more thing," I said, swinging a punch to his cheek. He let out a howl of pain again. "Oh goddamn!"

I heard police sirens in the distance. Within minutes, we were surrounded.

A squad quickly got out of the cars.

"Get down on your knees!"

Kurt was already there.

Penny, Leonard, and I got on our knees, holding our hands up in surrender.

Officer Bagsby, the kind officer that had reported the first incident earlier, approached us, grasping his pistol that was once in his belt.

"It was self-defense!" I began to defend what I had done. "I had no other choice."

"Oh, we're not here to arrest you," Officer Bagsby replied slowly. "We're here to arrest this guy." He pointed the gun at Kurt, who looked up and groaned loudly.

"You're under arrest for assault charges." Two unnamed officers pushed Kurt back onto the ground and put him in handcuffs.

"This is what I call 'squealin like a pig' trouble," I said with a grin, and Penny laughed a bit too loudly.

"Aren't you gonna press charges against her?" Kurt jerked a thumb in my direction. "She hit me and it's swelling. Damn bitch." When he removed a handcuffed hand from his face, I noticed it was, indeed, swelling. But I hadn't hit him that hard. What a baby.

"What did you ever see in him?" I asked Penny as he was dragged away forcefully (he was kicking and struggling) by the officers.

Penny sighed. "I don't know," she admitted, her cheeks reddening slightly. "I was tired of being alone, so I latched onto the first guy that gave me any attention." A grin spread across her pink-tinted lips. "You hit him good."

I puffed my chest out. "I did, didn't I?"

Leonard kissed me on the cheek. "That's my girl."

I smiled and buried my face in his chest.

"I say this calls for a celebration," I said, my voice muffled by his cloth Star Wars shirt.

"Will alcohol be included?" Penny perked up like a dog who had been given its favorite chew toy.

"If you want." I shot her a mischievous grin.

"Let's go then!" Penny cheered.

I laughed. "I think we need to take Leonard to the hospital first. He may have a few broken ribs."

"More than a few." The said man grimaced, cupping his hand over his ribs. "I think he may have shattered my shoulder blade, too."

I whistled. "Come on, hun. Let's get ya to the hospital." I turned to Penny. "Will you stop by my apartment and grab the Paul DVD? We can watch a movie and drink some beers…,"

"Sounds like a plan." Penny grinned and darted off.

I smiled.

Leonard needed a laugh after what he'd been through.

We all did.


End file.
